7 topics from Joe Biden’s prime-time Covid-19 speech

7 topics from Joe Biden’s prime-time Covid-19 speech

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My conclusions from Biden’s speech, which lasted just over 20 minutes, are below. They are in no order other than the order I wrote them down while watching the speech.

1. Donald Trump dug the hole: Biden did not mention his predecessor by name, but especially in the first moments of his speech, it became very clear that the current president blames much of the blame for the country’s struggles with the coronavirus pandemic at the feet of the last president. “A year ago, we were hit by a virus that was received with silence and spread unchecked, denials for days, weeks and then months,” said Biden at one point. “This led to more deaths, more infections, more stress and more loneliness.” At another point, Biden pulled on the mask and expressed surprise that it had turned into some kind of political statement.

2. The return of empathyy: Biden made a single gesture in his speech that demonstrated the empathy with which he operates vis a vis the lives lost to this pandemic. He pulled a card out of his jacket pocket – which he said he keeps wherever he goes – and read the exact, up-to-date number of Americans who died of coronavirus. (That number is more than 527,000.) Yes, of course, Biden did this to have a dramatic effect. But it worked. And it brought home the idea that this is a leader who keeps those who died of the pandemic close to his heart – literally. It also provided a not-so-subtle contrast to Trump’s open politicization of the virus and those who succumbed to it.

3. At war with the virus: In the language he chose – and in the comparisons he made – Biden clearly wanted the Americans to understand that we are at war with Covid-19. He said the country was “on the warpath”. He noted that Covid-19 now killed more Americans than World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined. Even when quoting “Farewell to Arms” – “many are strong in destroyed places” – Biden was invoking Ernest Hemingway’s novel about the First World War. The message was clear: this is not an enemy as the United States is used to fighting. Still, it is an enemy, and the need for sacrifice and unity is as great as it was when the United States was fighting the Axis powers.

4. The truth is important: Again, according to No. 1, Trump was not mentioned by name in this speech, but he was all over it. “We know what we need to do to beat this virus; tell the truth, follow the science, work together,” said Biden at one point, a direct rebuke to Trump’s rejection of facts and science about the coronavirus during the course of 2020 campaign. “You owe nothing less than the truth,” said Biden at another time. And even though it sounded an optimistic note about a return to normal – more on that below – Biden was open and transparent that things can go wrong, what variants of the virus are out there, and that if proper mitigation practices are not followed we could have another wave.

5. UNIT: At the most notable moment of the night, the President of the United States looked at the camera lens and said to the American people, “I need you.” Then he said again, “I need you.” (THE Scott Wilson of the Washington Post called it “the most memorable and unusual appeal in prime-time presidential speech.”) Again and again in the speech, Biden talked about the power of “we” in overcoming Covid-19. He talked about the need to find a “common purpose”. He said that “beating this virus and getting back to normal depends on national unity”. And that “I need every American to do their part”. The idea of ​​America coming together to do this was in stark contrast to the Trump presidency, in which the 45th president sought – from coronavirus to immigration to the race – to emphasize what divides us instead of our common humanity. “These are the United States of America and there is nothing we cannot do when we do it together,” said Biden in the closing moments of his speech.
6. 4th of July circle: Biden said that on Independence Day, “there is a good chance … you will be able to get together and have a barbecue or a barbecue in your backyard.” It was never better to go out in my backyard with some friends on a stifling summer day in DC! As Craig Melvin of NBC noted: “Well, it looks like July 4th, Independence Day, takes on a new meaning. It’s a milestone now.” This is exactly correct. July 4th is now the day – or close to the day – when the country will begin to return to some appearance of normalcy, at least according to Biden. Now he needs to keep that promise or have the date hanging around his neck as a political anchor – Trump’s ridiculous promise that we would start to return to normal on Easter Sunday 2020.
7 “Hope is a good thing, perhaps the best thing”: This line – spoken by Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) to Red (Morgan Freeman) in “The Shawshank Redemption” kept popping up in my head during Biden’s speech. (Maybe it’s because “Shawshank” was a trend on Twitter at the same time that Biden was speaking!) Biden used his speech, yes, to detail the losses that we suffered – individually and collectively – from Covid-19. But he also pointed to a promising future that was within reach, as long as we continue to work together. “There is hope, light and better days ahead,” said Biden near the end of the speech – and the image that came to mind was Red walking on that beach in Zihuatanejo while Andy worked on his boat. What a beautiful moment.

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