Politics

Joe Biden postpones virtual fundraiser until next week following technical difficulties with online town hall

Key Points
  • Joe Biden's campaign postponed a virtual fundraiser scheduled for Thursday until next week.
  • It wasn't immediately clear why the event was delayed, but the move comes after the campaign struggled with technical difficulties during one of its recent town halls.
  • Biden's campaign has moved to virtual events as the coronavirus spreads and people are discouraged to gather together in crowds.
Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks as Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) listen behind him during a campaign rally held at the University of South Florida Campus Recreation Building on October 22, 2018 in Tampa, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Joe Biden's campaign postponed a virtual fundraiser scheduled for Thursday until next week.

It wasn't immediately clear why the event was delayed, but the move comes after the campaign struggled with technical difficulties during one of its recent town halls. The campaign has moved to virtual events as the coronavirus spreads and people are discouraged to gather together in crowds.

"We are really looking forward to convening with you virtually. As we are adjusting to all of the changes and still in transition, we would like to postpone our virtual event until next week. We will follow up shortly with the new date," a Biden campaign official said in an email to donors on Wednesday. 

A seperate upcoming event that was supposed to be co-hosted by Rufus Gifford, a former U.S. ambassador to Denmark, and James Costos, a former U.S. ambassador to Spain, will not go virtual this week and will likely be held later in the election cycle, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. 

Biden's campaign decided to have all his fundraising events go virtual in the wake of the coronavirus spreading throughout the United States. Biden previously had money-making gatherings scheduled in New York and New Jersey before he decided to go virtual. Wall Street executive Jay Snyder was slated to host one of them. 

The former vice president also had his rallies go virtual, but the campaign ran into technical difficulties last week when they tried to host a digital town hall for his supporters in Illinois. 

Shortly after publication, a spokesman for the Biden campaign noted the virtual event was not rescheduled due to a technical matter and declined to comment further. 

The memo to donors also gave a glimpse into how the campaign will organize future fundraising events, including how participants can login and ask questions. 

"We will be using the Zoom platform for this event, which will allow each of you to participate by video or phone from your home. The morning of the event, we will send out the link to participate by video as well as a dial-in in case you prefer to join by phone," the note said. "In lieu of taking live questions during the event, please let us know if there are any topics you would like covered." 

Biden's bundlers and team are trying to avoid any issues that could concern donors funding the former vice president's campaign to take on President Donald Trump in November.

Meanwhile, Biden appears to be on the cusp of clinching the Democratic nomination. He added to his delegate lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders as he swept three major contests Tuesday night: Illinois, Florida and Arizona.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders debated amid the coronavirus pandemic—Here are the highlights
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Biden and Sanders debated amid the coronavirus pandemic—Here are the highlights