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.
MTG Attacks Again, Blames Trump for Death Threats Against Her Son
Small Business Administration unveils new initiative to roll back federal regulations
Gavin Newsom Says Charlie Kirk Helped Him Better ‘Understand’ Christianity
China’s missile surge puts every US base in the Pacific at risk — and the window to respond is closing
In-N-Out Retires the Number 67 from Its Ordering System Over Viral ‘6-7’ Trend
Victim’s family breaks silence as Oklahoma teen in violent sex assault case avoids prison time: report
Trump addresses trio of attacks in Syria, Brown University, and Australia at White House Christmas event
‘You’re Not Answering’: Maher Goes Off After Leftist Guest Blames ‘Whitey’ for Islamic Oppression
Trump encourages Jewish Americans to ‘celebrate proudly’ during Hanukkah after deadly Bondi Beach shooting
Troy Aikman Blasts College Football NIL Chaos After Player He Paid Bolts Without Thanking Him
Ohio Doctor Indicted for Allegedly Drugging Pregnant Girlfriend with Abortion Pills
Oversight says DC police chief ‘undermined’ accuracy of crime data
Polling Finds Pete Buttigieg Less Popular with Black Voters Than Former KKK Leader
Woke Libs Freak Out and Label Pantone’s Color the Year ‘Racist,’ Then Look (Even More) Ridiculous When They Learn Who Runs the Company
Los Angeles Electric School Bus Bursts Into Flames, Driver Hospitalized
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:
MTG Attacks Again, Blames Trump for Death Threats Against Her Son
Small Business Administration unveils new initiative to roll back federal regulations
Gavin Newsom Says Charlie Kirk Helped Him Better ‘Understand’ Christianity
China’s missile surge puts every US base in the Pacific at risk — and the window to respond is closing
In-N-Out Retires the Number 67 from Its Ordering System Over Viral ‘6-7’ Trend
Victim’s family breaks silence as Oklahoma teen in violent sex assault case avoids prison time: report
Trump addresses trio of attacks in Syria, Brown University, and Australia at White House Christmas event
‘You’re Not Answering’: Maher Goes Off After Leftist Guest Blames ‘Whitey’ for Islamic Oppression
Trump encourages Jewish Americans to ‘celebrate proudly’ during Hanukkah after deadly Bondi Beach shooting
Troy Aikman Blasts College Football NIL Chaos After Player He Paid Bolts Without Thanking Him
Ohio Doctor Indicted for Allegedly Drugging Pregnant Girlfriend with Abortion Pills
Oversight says DC police chief ‘undermined’ accuracy of crime data
Polling Finds Pete Buttigieg Less Popular with Black Voters Than Former KKK Leader
Woke Libs Freak Out and Label Pantone’s Color the Year ‘Racist,’ Then Look (Even More) Ridiculous When They Learn Who Runs the Company
Los Angeles Electric School Bus Bursts Into Flames, Driver Hospitalized
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
MTG Attacks Again, Blames Trump for Death Threats Against Her Son
Small Business Administration unveils new initiative to roll back federal regulations
Gavin Newsom Says Charlie Kirk Helped Him Better ‘Understand’ Christianity
China’s missile surge puts every US base in the Pacific at risk — and the window to respond is closing
In-N-Out Retires the Number 67 from Its Ordering System Over Viral ‘6-7’ Trend
Victim’s family breaks silence as Oklahoma teen in violent sex assault case avoids prison time: report
Trump addresses trio of attacks in Syria, Brown University, and Australia at White House Christmas event
‘You’re Not Answering’: Maher Goes Off After Leftist Guest Blames ‘Whitey’ for Islamic Oppression
Trump encourages Jewish Americans to ‘celebrate proudly’ during Hanukkah after deadly Bondi Beach shooting
Troy Aikman Blasts College Football NIL Chaos After Player He Paid Bolts Without Thanking Him
Ohio Doctor Indicted for Allegedly Drugging Pregnant Girlfriend with Abortion Pills
Oversight says DC police chief ‘undermined’ accuracy of crime data
Polling Finds Pete Buttigieg Less Popular with Black Voters Than Former KKK Leader
Woke Libs Freak Out and Label Pantone’s Color the Year ‘Racist,’ Then Look (Even More) Ridiculous When They Learn Who Runs the Company
Los Angeles Electric School Bus Bursts Into Flames, Driver Hospitalized
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.
