Biden Says Convention May Be Postponed

Joe Biden. Photo is in the Public Domain.
This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.

Former Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday he wouldn’t be surprised if the Democratic National Convention is rescheduled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The convention is scheduled to take place in Milwaukee July 13 to 16.

“It’s hard to envision that,” Biden said during an interview with MSNBC’s Brian Williams. “Again, we should listen to the scientists. And you know one of the reasons why the Democratic convention was going to be held early was the Olympics were coming after the Republican convention. There’s more time now. I think we’re going to, again, we ought to be able to do what we were able to do in the middle of the Civil War all the way through to World War II: have Democratic and Republican conventions, and primaries, and elections, and still have public safety. And we’re able to do both. But the fact is that it may have to be different.”

For the last several weeks, the Democratic National Convention Committee has been working on contingency plans for the convention. The event is expected to bring 50,000 people to Milwaukee and the surrounding area.

On Wednesday, Committee CEO Joe Solmonese said these challenging times are requiring everyone to be thoughtful about the moment we’re living in.

“Providing an opportunity for our candidate to reaffirm our democratic values, unify the party and share his vision for a safer and stronger future for our country has never before felt more important,” Solmonese said. “As we continue to put plans in place for a successful Democratic National Convention this summer, we will balance protecting the health and well-being of convention attendees and our host city with our responsibility to deliver this historic and critical occasion.”

Biden: Democratic National Convention Will Likely Be Rescheduled was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.