Joe Biden Shredded for Blunder-Filled Virtual Rally: 'How Can a National Campaign Allow This To Happen?
What was billed as a virtual rally for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Thursday was skewered as a technological disaster.
The glitch-filled event aimed at rallying support for Biden among Florida voters featured speakers whose words were well out of sync with the images on the video, extensive comments from the technical staff trying to get everyone to speak at the right time, and a roughly six-minute void of silence.
The website Vice summarily lampooned the event as “so plagued by technical problems it looked like it was being run by local seniors attempting Zoom for the first time.”
“When the basic tech wasn’t failing Biden, a rather loud, angry-sounding chirping bird drowned out Biden’s remarks better than any MAGA protester could have,” it added.
Vice also noted that the event was more than just another chapter in the series of technology mishaps plaguing many Americans in this time of coronavirus-induced lockdowns, but rather played into the narrative of President Donald Trump’s campaign “to paint Biden as a doddering old man.”
“If Biden and his team can’t figure out how to up their digital game, that attack may cut deep,” Vice opined.
Others also said the event was a disaster.
“The candidate’s own audio was going in and out and all glitchy. How can a national campaign allow this to happen? Do they not have Zoom?” WTVT’s Evan Axelbank tweeted.
The candidate’s own audio was going in and out and all glitchy. How can a national campaign allow this to happen? Do they not have Zoom?
— Evan Axelbank Fox13 (@EvanAxelbank) May 7, 2020
Well this is going to be worse than if he hadn’t done anything. What a disaster of a “rally” that was. @JoeBiden might need to beef this tech operation up
— Evan Axelbank Fox13 (@EvanAxelbank) May 7, 2020
Glitches, Pixelated Images, Blank Screens – Biden’s Virtual Campaign Rally in Tampa Was a Total Disaster (VIDEO) https://t.co/I5VqmmN6kH via @gatewaypundit
— Bill Hennessy (@HennessySTL) May 8, 2020
Loud squawking bird repeatedly steals the show, makes the most sense during Biden virtual rally pic.twitter.com/UbwdK3CLRB
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) May 7, 2020
The event included roughly 10 minutes of music playing over a series of images of Biden that started and ended with several minutes of nothing on the screen but a man identified as DJ Jack Henriquez playing the music while lights flashed on the screen.
When the music ended, the glitches returned. Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist of Florida extolled Biden’s virtues with the audio out of sync and badly garbled until the video of him suddenly disappeared, which improved the quality of the final minutes of his remarks.
Biden’s appearance at the end of the video began with him apparently unaware he was live.
“Did they introduce me? Am I on?” Biden asked as he moved closer to the camera, taking off a pair of sunglasses.
When he started talking, Biden’s remarks were garbled, giving him the sound of speaking while under water as he criticized Trump’s response to the coronavirus.
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