Biden says it's 'hard to envision' Democratic convention happening as planned in July

Joe Biden
(Image credit: MSNBC)

Amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, can the Democratic National Convention still happen as currently planned in July? Former Vice President Joe Biden thinks that's unlikely.

Biden appeared on MSNBC for an interview Tuesday in which Brian Williams asked the Democratic candidate if he can "really envision every prominent Democrat in this country" gathering "inside a hot arena 104 days from now." At the moment, the 2020 Democratic National Convention is set to begin on July 13 in Milwaukee.

"It's hard to envision that," Biden responded. "Again, we should listen to the scientists."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Biden went on to suggest delaying the convention may be appropriate, saying there's "more time" now that the Olympics, which had originally been set to begin on July 24, got pushed until next year. The 2020 Republican National Convention is scheduled for the end of August.

Looking ahead toward the general election, Biden also said on MSNBC that plans should be put in place now to ensure that "we're able to conduct our democracy while we're dealing with a pandemic," including the possibility of "drive-in voting."

"We were able to, 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," Biden said. "We're able to do both. But the fact is, it may have to be different." Brendan Morrow

Explore More
Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.