Covid fears have upturned nearly everything in the US election, turning what would have been a highlight into an ‘extended infomercial’
The Republican and Democratic Conventions are traditionally loud, colourful and energetic highlights of the election campaign. But like with so much else in 2020, COVID-19 popped the balloon this year.
News
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Outside of election day, there are two events that are considered the highlights of US Presidential election races: the national conventions for each major party.
In the past, these were the four-day extravaganzas which drew tens of thousands of visitors to carefully selected cities to anoint the Republican and Democratic candidates.
Big name political figures and celebrities would be called in to rev-up their respective bases and on the final night the candidates would take the stage with their families to accept their party’s nomination.
Cue the famous balloon drop and rapturous applause, and then the final sprint to the first Tuesday (after a Monday) in November would begin.
But like everything in 2020, the coronavirus means things are going to be very different this year.
How has COVID changed the Democratic National Convention?
The Democrats have taken more steps to scale back their convention than the Republicans, making this week’s events almost entirely virtual.
Instead of in-person meetings and glad-handling among media, political insiders, politicians and celebrities, the Democratic National Convention is packing into two hours of prime time programming what used to be a full day of events.
Almost all of the speeches are being made remotely, many of them prerecorded, and early reviews were that Monday’s first night of events was like an “extended infomercial”. President Trump called it a “snooze fest”.
This was a decision made months ago and follows months of lockdown forJoe Biden, who has been repeatedly accused by his opponents of “hiding in his basement”.
Mr Biden is also drawing increasing heat over not having taken questions from the press for several months and appearing only in highly choreographed broadcast interviews.
What about the Republican National Convention?
The run-up to the Republican National Convention, which will be held from August 24 to 27, was not as smooth as the Democrats.
The first setback came in June when Donald Trump pulled out of holding the event in Charlotte, North Carolina, after the state’s governor wouldn’t relax stringent social distancing measures.
Back then, Mr Trump clearly hoped the coronavirus would not be at the crisis levels it has reached in the US and believed he would be able to pull a huge crowd.
Plans were made to move to Jacksonville, Florida, where close Trump ally, Governor Ron DeSantis, was all too happy to throw open the doors.
But when Florida’s infections exploded last month, Mr Trump pulled the plug there and said he would also move to a scaled back convention.
“To have a big convention, it is not the right time,” Mr Trump said at the White House.
“It can be nothing like our last convention unfortunately. It’s a different world and it will be for a little while.”
Mr Trump will instead be part of a number of events in Washington DC, possibly ending with a fireworks display at the National Monument.
Republicans have also reportedly invited the figures at the centre of some of the past year’s biggest news stories to their convention. These include Nick Sandmann, the MAGA-hat wearing schoolboy who has successfully sued several media organisations including CNN for their coverage if his interaction with a native American protester in Washington.
Patricia and Mark McCloskey, the St Louis couple who brandished guns at Black Lives Matters marchers at their property in June, will also reportedly appear.
So what does this all mean for the election race?
Pollsters say campaigns can usually rely on a moderate bump after their conventions, but it’s not possible to predict this year.
What is clear is that a re-energised Mr Trump has started closing the gap in polling over the past week and plans a series of lightning visits to key states in an effort to steal the Biden spotlight.
Mr Trump is still around the 40 per cent approval he has held throughout his term, but the numbers that should worry Democrats are around what is motivating registered voters in a new CNN poll.
Rather than excitement about a potential Biden administration, which just 32 per cent voters are enthusiastic about, some 59 per cent of voters said their vote was all about Mr Trump.
About a third (29 per cent) were voting against Trump and 30 per cent were voting for him. With one of the biggest challenges for presidential campaigns getting people out to vote, this lack of passion could well point to a lacklustre turnout for Mr Biden.
