Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden’s first virtual town hall on Friday was denounced as “an absolute technical nightmare.”
Biden had been scheduled to hold a traditional campaign event in Illinois on Friday.
However, in light of restrictions on gatherings that are being put in place in response to the coronavirus outbreak, the campaign decided to make the event a virtual town hall.
As CNN reported, the event was pushed back by two hours from its original start time, and then still started 15 minutes late.
Makena Kelly, who dissected the event for The Verge, explained what greeted her when she clicked in.
“When I logged onto Joe Biden’s first-ever virtual town hall, I was greeted with one Illinois senator adjusting the angle of her webcam and another showing off an adorable (but screaming) baby in an oddly intimate video call before the former vice president even appeared onscreen,” she wrote in her piece, which was titled simply, “Joe Biden’s first virtual town hall was an absolute technical nightmare.”
“What was at first an awkwardly silent video conference evolved into a complete technical nightmare that resulted in Biden sounding as if he was screaming in TV static for the first few minutes of the event,” she wrote.
Trump promotes Freedom Haulers Initiative to fast-track military veterans into trucking jobs
Watch: Eagles Defensive Coordinator Repeatedly Mocks Fauci During News Conference
House panel demands classified briefings on noncitizen voting, alleged Chinese election interference
Watch: Mamdani Is Open to Forcing New Yorkers to Pay Cash Reparations for Slavery, Says ‘We Were Very Complicit’
War powers resolution fails as Senate Republicans stand by Trump on Iran
Thousands of migrants bull-rush Spanish border, sparking ‘total humanitarian and social emergency’
Florida AG threatens Fauci investigation after Senate hearing
Alex Murdaugh murder trial ‘egg juror’ fights to unseal state investigation into Becky Hill: report
Bryan Kohberger appointed new lawyer after Idaho murders case costs taxpayers over $8 million
Fauci’s Testimony Reminds Us of Blatant Propaganda Americans Paid For: ‘This is Why We Defunded’ NPR, GOP Senator Says
Capitol sex scandals spark push to ban House lawmakers from sleeping with staffers
One of the Most Obnoxious Leftists Made Smug Fauci Prediction, Then Scrambled for Delete Key After Disastrous Hearing Began
We Have Receipts: Four Years Ago, Fauci Said ‘Nothing to Hide,’ ‘Very Happy to Testify’ Before Congress
Can Fauci hide behind the Fifth? Game-changing Biden pardon may not provide complete cover, experts say
Watch: Seattle Top Cop Gives Absurd New Name to Criminal Gangs, Confirms He Was at Black Conference in Texas During Seattle Mass Shooting
Those attending the event pointed out the problems.
In fact, the first question was actually a critique from a viewer who noted, “Mr. Biden’s speech was garbly the entire time.”
Biden also seemed flummoxed by the technology.
“Am I live?” he said when the third questioner of the evening was speaking.
“Am I on camera?” he said as the fourth person asked a question.
Near the end of the town hall event, Biden wandered off screen.
At one point, only the back half of his head was visible.
While he soon came back, the campaign eventually decided that was enough. The video stream was cut, and the rest of the event was audio only:
Trump promotes Freedom Haulers Initiative to fast-track military veterans into trucking jobs
Watch: Eagles Defensive Coordinator Repeatedly Mocks Fauci During News Conference
House panel demands classified briefings on noncitizen voting, alleged Chinese election interference
Watch: Mamdani Is Open to Forcing New Yorkers to Pay Cash Reparations for Slavery, Says ‘We Were Very Complicit’
War powers resolution fails as Senate Republicans stand by Trump on Iran
Thousands of migrants bull-rush Spanish border, sparking ‘total humanitarian and social emergency’
Florida AG threatens Fauci investigation after Senate hearing
Alex Murdaugh murder trial ‘egg juror’ fights to unseal state investigation into Becky Hill: report
Bryan Kohberger appointed new lawyer after Idaho murders case costs taxpayers over $8 million
Fauci’s Testimony Reminds Us of Blatant Propaganda Americans Paid For: ‘This is Why We Defunded’ NPR, GOP Senator Says
Capitol sex scandals spark push to ban House lawmakers from sleeping with staffers
One of the Most Obnoxious Leftists Made Smug Fauci Prediction, Then Scrambled for Delete Key After Disastrous Hearing Began
We Have Receipts: Four Years Ago, Fauci Said ‘Nothing to Hide,’ ‘Very Happy to Testify’ Before Congress
Can Fauci hide behind the Fifth? Game-changing Biden pardon may not provide complete cover, experts say
Watch: Seattle Top Cop Gives Absurd New Name to Criminal Gangs, Confirms He Was at Black Conference in Texas During Seattle Mass Shooting
Before Biden signed off, he made a comment that summed up the evening, according to Breitbart.
“I’m sorry this is such a disjointed effort here,” Biden said.
Twitter was not kind to the event:
What’s he talking about? Wow.
— Scott Sheridan (@SSheridan74) March 14, 2020
This is part of the virtual town hall the Biden campaign wouldn't post
Garbled/cut out audio, blank screens, randomly going live to unsuspecting participants
A complete disaster pic.twitter.com/eLGgHyPm91
— Zach Parkinson (@AZachParkinson) March 14, 2020
Trump promotes Freedom Haulers Initiative to fast-track military veterans into trucking jobs
Watch: Eagles Defensive Coordinator Repeatedly Mocks Fauci During News Conference
House panel demands classified briefings on noncitizen voting, alleged Chinese election interference
Watch: Mamdani Is Open to Forcing New Yorkers to Pay Cash Reparations for Slavery, Says ‘We Were Very Complicit’
War powers resolution fails as Senate Republicans stand by Trump on Iran
Thousands of migrants bull-rush Spanish border, sparking ‘total humanitarian and social emergency’
Florida AG threatens Fauci investigation after Senate hearing
Alex Murdaugh murder trial ‘egg juror’ fights to unseal state investigation into Becky Hill: report
Bryan Kohberger appointed new lawyer after Idaho murders case costs taxpayers over $8 million
Fauci’s Testimony Reminds Us of Blatant Propaganda Americans Paid For: ‘This is Why We Defunded’ NPR, GOP Senator Says
Capitol sex scandals spark push to ban House lawmakers from sleeping with staffers
One of the Most Obnoxious Leftists Made Smug Fauci Prediction, Then Scrambled for Delete Key After Disastrous Hearing Began
We Have Receipts: Four Years Ago, Fauci Said ‘Nothing to Hide,’ ‘Very Happy to Testify’ Before Congress
Can Fauci hide behind the Fifth? Game-changing Biden pardon may not provide complete cover, experts say
Watch: Seattle Top Cop Gives Absurd New Name to Criminal Gangs, Confirms He Was at Black Conference in Texas During Seattle Mass Shooting
Joe Biden is the worst presidential candidate of all-time.pic.twitter.com/rEVyjBy7hu
— Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) March 14, 2020
“Biden’s first-ever virtual town hall was a sorry first sign for the future of digital campaigning, something that will become ever more important as the presidential race heats up and coronavirus spreads across the country,” Kelly wrote.
“Hopefully the Biden campaign and others can get it together before November, or at least until the pandemic fades.”
Story cited here.
