Joe Biden’s town hall with CNN was a unique one— it was a drive-in where the moderator stood on stage with Joe Biden, as attendees parked cars around them and walked up to microphones near the stage to ask questions. Biden, during the town hall that lasted 75 minutes, was asked softball questions like how he intended to keep American workplaces safe during COVID-19 and whether he had benefitted from white privilege.
Biden touted his own ability to unite the country, "I'm not going to be a Democratic president. I'm going to be America's president," he said. He mocked Trump's claims that electing Biden would lead to widespread violence and chaos in suburbs of America.
A woman who voted for Trump in the 2016 elections, asked Biden about the Obama-era Clean Water Rule which she said placed an “extreme burden” on farmers and pressed on by saying that the Green New Deal that Biden’s climate plan embraces did the same.
“No, it doesn’t,” Biden said, interrupting her mid-question.
Biden managed to dodge a few tough questions— like his 47-year stint in the Senate which included him voting for a war against Iraq and questions about his son Hunter Biden working for a Ukrainian gas company while Biden senior was still in charge of policy for the region.
Biden sought the support of the blue-collared workers and talked of the campaign being one between Scranton, his hometown and Park Avenue, “I view this campaign as a campaign between Scranton and Park Avenue. All Trump can see from Park Avenue is Wall Street. All he thinks about is the stock market,” he said.
Post the event, the Trump campaign said that every question was an invitation for Biden to attack the president and rebuked the moderator Cooper Anderson for not giving enough pushback. Biden at the Townhall made known his support for the Black Lives Matters movement. “Very few white parents have to turn and say to their kid, once they get their license, ‘Make sure if you are pulled over, put both hands on top of the wheel, don’t reach for the glove box, make sure you do whatever the police officer says,” Biden said, referring to how Black families tend to shield their children from being shot at by a policeman. He added that most police officials are decent honourable people.
Talking of protests that have been taking place in the country, Biden was quoted by a New York Times report as saying, “First of all, protesting is one thing, the right to speak is one thing. Violence of any kind, no matter who it is coming from, is wrong, and people should be held accountable. Burning down automobile lots, smashing windows, setting buildings on fire. But here’s the deal, I’ve condemned every form of violence, no matter what the source is.”
Biden also brought up Attorney General William Barr’s recent comment that lockdowns to contain the coronavirus was "greatest intrusion on civil liberties" in history "other than slavery." "What Bill Barr recently said is outrageous," Biden said. He also said, "It's been the failure of this President to deal with this virus, and he knew about it.”
