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.
Ex-CIA official admits to $194 million fraud scheme involving gold bars
Cornell Appoints Former Acting Attorney General Who Was Fired by Trump for Insubordination to Lead Investigation
GOP Sen. Thom Tillis Sucks Up to ‘The View’ by Threatening to Dox Trump’s Personal Phone Number
Unearthed social media posts contradict El-Sayed’s ‘capitalist’ narrative
Christa Pike now conscious and talking after surviving 2 doses of lethal injection drug: report
Delta Air Lines jet clips Air Canada plane on Los Angeles International Airport tarmac
Israel claims Hamas is planning Oct. 7 anniversary attack. Does it have the means to do so?
Immediate Impact Seen at CNN HQ as Paramount and Warner Bros. Finalize Controversial Mega Merger
Nebraska’s Dan Osborn says mocking Trump voters ‘came from a place of passion’
Macron trashes American free speech as riots grip France — internet unloads: ‘Enormous fool’
ICE Hunting for 2 Illegal Aliens Suspected of Stabbing an NYPD Officer 3 Years After Biden Released Them Into the U.S.
El Sayed creates ‘Mike Rogers is watching you’ website highlighting work on Patriot Act
Russian researcher’s mystery death could be ‘far worse’ than the plague, former senior Trump official warns
Lithuania moves to allow nuclear weapons on its territory, sparking threats of ‘escalation’ from Russia
Liberal justices look for ‘escape hatch’ as high-stakes climate case lands at Supreme Court, experts say
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:
Ex-CIA official admits to $194 million fraud scheme involving gold bars
Cornell Appoints Former Acting Attorney General Who Was Fired by Trump for Insubordination to Lead Investigation
GOP Sen. Thom Tillis Sucks Up to ‘The View’ by Threatening to Dox Trump’s Personal Phone Number
Unearthed social media posts contradict El-Sayed’s ‘capitalist’ narrative
Christa Pike now conscious and talking after surviving 2 doses of lethal injection drug: report
Delta Air Lines jet clips Air Canada plane on Los Angeles International Airport tarmac
Israel claims Hamas is planning Oct. 7 anniversary attack. Does it have the means to do so?
Immediate Impact Seen at CNN HQ as Paramount and Warner Bros. Finalize Controversial Mega Merger
Nebraska’s Dan Osborn says mocking Trump voters ‘came from a place of passion’
Macron trashes American free speech as riots grip France — internet unloads: ‘Enormous fool’
ICE Hunting for 2 Illegal Aliens Suspected of Stabbing an NYPD Officer 3 Years After Biden Released Them Into the U.S.
El Sayed creates ‘Mike Rogers is watching you’ website highlighting work on Patriot Act
Russian researcher’s mystery death could be ‘far worse’ than the plague, former senior Trump official warns
Lithuania moves to allow nuclear weapons on its territory, sparking threats of ‘escalation’ from Russia
Liberal justices look for ‘escape hatch’ as high-stakes climate case lands at Supreme Court, experts say
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
Ex-CIA official admits to $194 million fraud scheme involving gold bars
Cornell Appoints Former Acting Attorney General Who Was Fired by Trump for Insubordination to Lead Investigation
GOP Sen. Thom Tillis Sucks Up to ‘The View’ by Threatening to Dox Trump’s Personal Phone Number
Unearthed social media posts contradict El-Sayed’s ‘capitalist’ narrative
Christa Pike now conscious and talking after surviving 2 doses of lethal injection drug: report
Delta Air Lines jet clips Air Canada plane on Los Angeles International Airport tarmac
Israel claims Hamas is planning Oct. 7 anniversary attack. Does it have the means to do so?
Immediate Impact Seen at CNN HQ as Paramount and Warner Bros. Finalize Controversial Mega Merger
Nebraska’s Dan Osborn says mocking Trump voters ‘came from a place of passion’
Macron trashes American free speech as riots grip France — internet unloads: ‘Enormous fool’
ICE Hunting for 2 Illegal Aliens Suspected of Stabbing an NYPD Officer 3 Years After Biden Released Them Into the U.S.
El Sayed creates ‘Mike Rogers is watching you’ website highlighting work on Patriot Act
Russian researcher’s mystery death could be ‘far worse’ than the plague, former senior Trump official warns
Lithuania moves to allow nuclear weapons on its territory, sparking threats of ‘escalation’ from Russia
Liberal justices look for ‘escape hatch’ as high-stakes climate case lands at Supreme Court, experts say
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.
