Former Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday he will begin broadcasting regular briefings about the coronavirus pandemic from his home in Delaware, following criticism from some on the left that he’s been absent as the public health crisis has escalated.
During a telefundraiser on Sunday, a donor told Biden that he wanted to see the former vice president cut a more public profile when it comes to the government’s coronavirus response.
“I would just love to see you more,” the donor told Biden. “Like, how do we get more of you and less of [President Trump] on our airwaves?”
Biden that his campaign team is installing a “new high-speed line” in his home and turning a recreation room into a television studio so he can broadcast from home at a time when government officials are asking people to stay indoors.
Biden said he expected to address voters from his home on Monday at 11:30 a.m. EDT.
“I’m going to speak to these issues,” Biden said.
Biden has not spoken on camera since Tuesday night, when he won resounding primary victories over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in Florida, Illinois and Arizona.
Those victories helped Biden open up what many view as a nearly insurmountable lead over Sanders in the race to be the Democratic presidential nominee.
Sanders remains in the race for now. Since Tuesday’s election, he’s held several online roundtable events to address the growing crisis around the coronavirus. In addition, Sanders has used his campaign email list to raise more than $2 million for charities that assist those hit hardest by the crisis.
Some of Sanders’s supporters have accused Biden of being absent in a time of crisis, arguing that he’s kept too low of a profile since effectively sewing up the nomination on Tuesday.
During a press call with reporters on Friday, Biden said he was “desperately” looking for innovative ways to get his message out since he’s been sidelined from the campaign trail.
“I want to be in daily or at least significant contact with the American people and communicate what I would be doing and what I think we should be doing,” Biden said.