The man who wants to save America from coronavirus struggled mightily Friday evening with cameras, computers, and microphones.
Due to the restrictions on crowds because of coronavirus, Joe Biden scheduled a “virtual town hall” in Illinois on Friday at 4:00 p.m. Central.
Then it was moved to 6:00 p.m. Central.
When Breitbart News tuned in, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth was fiddling with her camera phone, at one moment setting it on the table pointed straight up at the ceiling so America could see her light fixture.
A short time later, the text “Senator Dick Durbin” appeared on the otherwise black screen, accompanied by the wails of a baby in the background.
At 6:19, a moderator announced Durbin, who wasn’t visible. He introduced Biden, who appeared before American and Illinois flags.
Biden began speaking, but there was no audio. Then suddenly, Durbin appeared in a separate screen holding a small child.
Biden seemed to be reading from a teleprompter, but the broadcast suffered from severe tech issues, as Biden’s words were caught in a feedback loop, muddying the whole presentation and making the candidate nearly indecipherable.
Biden tossed it to former Obama Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who offered hygiene recommendations.
It then went back to Biden, who took questions. But when the campaign sorted out Biden’s audio issues, he never appeared on screen again.
The first person called on to ask a question said, “Mr. Biden’s speech was garbled the entire time.” The moderator promptly moved onto another person.
One asked how Biden would “satisfy” Bernie Sanders supporters, and he said they are aligned on many issues, so it would not be difficult. Another asked how Biden’s health care plan would solve “the current health crisis.” The final woman asked if Biden supported the Endangered Species Act.
He confirmed he did.
“I’m sorry this is such a disjointed effort here,” Biden said, signing off.
Here is the full video:
The event ended at 6:43 p.m. Duckworth never appeared again.
It’s not clear how many people actually were watching the virtual meeting.
Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @KyleOlson4.