Biden, Obama to appear together on campaign trail
Barack Obama Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will hit the campaign trail together this weekend as the former president looks to give an eleventh-hour boost to his former right-hand man.
A source familiar with the plans told The Hill that Obama and Biden will appear together in a battleground state this weekend, though plans are still being finalized regarding the exact location of the event.
The campaign has already said Biden will be campaigning in Michigan this weekend.
Obama remains overwhelmingly popular with the Democratic base and is Biden’s most effective surrogate. The party hopes that his appearances on the stump can help energize the coalition that elected him to two terms, mainly Black men, Latinos and young voters.
All three of those demographics lagged in turnout in 2016, contributing to Hillary Clinton’s defeat, and President Trump has campaigned to shave Biden’s lead with them in the hopes that marginal gains could increase his chances in key swing states.
Obama has made a number of solo appearances in the past week for Biden, including a stop in Pennsylvania and two in Florida, two battleground states where early voting is already underway.
The former president has unleashed criticism of Trump in his appearances on the campaign trail so far, excoriating his successor over the White House’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, among other things.
“What’s his closing argument? That people are too focused on COVID,” Obama said Tuesday, referencing repeated comments at Trump’s rallies and on his Twitter feed that the media has put too much emphasis on the pandemic.
“He said this at one of his rallies, ‘COVID, COVID, COVID.’ He’s complaining,” Obama said. “He’s jealous of COVID’s media coverage.”
Obama’s events so far have been drive-in rallies, a format the campaign hopes will attract sizeable crowds while still keeping with social distancing guidelines.
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