Joe Biden’s campaign has reportedly pulled all negative ads in the wake of Donald Trump’s announcement that he tested positive for coronavirus and his subsequent trip to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment.
It does not appear the president is following suit.
New York Times reporter Elaina Plott noted on Twitter that the Republican’s re-election campaign went forward with sending out a fundraising letter that took aim at Barack Obama and turned to a familiar attack on Biden as hiding in his basement.
“The Trump campaign just sent out a fundraising email with the subject line ‘Lyin’ Obama.’ The email goes on to mock Joe Biden for being ‘asleep in his basement.’ The Biden campaign, meanwhile, has pulled all negative ads,” Plott wrote.
The attack on Biden stems from his decision to scrap a majority of in-person events and forgo large rallies amid the coronavirus pandemic. Biden instead turned to a series of virtual meetings, many of which he conducted from inside his Delaware home, though in recent days he has begun to hold more in-person events with strict social distancing rules.
Trump and his allies have mocked Biden for this decision, accusing him of hiding in his basement.
The Trump fundraising pitch was sent out after the Democratic candidate pulled back on sharp attacks. As Newsweek reported, the Biden team said it was pulling all negative ads, while the Democratic candidate himself put out a statement saying the he and his wife would “continue to pray for the health and safety of the President and the First Lady.”
It was not clear whether the letter had been scheduled to be released before the news of the positive coronavirus tests, or whether the timing was intentional. The Newsweek report noted that Trump’s re-election effort is now up in the air, as it is unclear how severe of a COVID-19 case he could be facing or just how long it will keep him off the trail.
“The president and his campaign staff spent Friday morning figuring out how the campaign goes forward from here. Trump over the next few days had rallies scheduled for Florida, Wisconsin and Arizona among other battleground states,” the report noted, adding that all events will be off the schedule for at least the next 14 days.
It was also unclear just what condition Trump was in on Friday, as initial reports indicated that he was asymptomatic, but officials later saying he was suffering mild symptoms. Trump was later taken to the hospital for what was reported to be precautionary reasons. He was set to undergo testing.
