CNN Announces Town Hall with Joe Biden
CNN will host a town hall with Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden (D) on Thursday, September 17, the outlet announced on Thursday.
Biden, who is gradually making more public appearances after largely staying out of the public eye and campaigning from his basement over the summer, will participate in a town hall hosted by CNN next week in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper will moderate the event, which will have a “socially-distanced live audience,” per CNN. The outlet assured that the event will adhere to the state’s coronavirus restrictions.
The former vice president recently made an appearance in the Keystone State, where he spoke about his view on the violent riots sweeping the country.
“You know me, you know my heart, you know my story, my family’s story. Do I look like a radical socialist, with a soft spot for rioters?” he asked during his visit as Democrat strategists warn that the riots in Democrat-controlled cities could cause Biden to lose suburban voters.
Recent surveys show a narrowing race in the battleground state, which President Trump secured in 2016. A Rasmussen Reports poll released last week showed Trump and Biden tied in Pennsylvania with 46 percent each. The survey also showed Trump enjoying a higher favorability than his opponent:
Forty-nine percent (49%) have a favorable view of the president, while 50% percent (50%) share an unfavorable opinion of him. This includes Very Favorables of 36% and Very Unfavorables of 44%. Biden is seen favorably by 46% and unfavorably by 52%, with 29% who have a Very Favorable opinion of him and 38% who hold a Very Unfavorable one.
Similarly, a Monmouth University poll released at the beginning of the month showed Biden dramatically losing his once-held double-digit advantage in the state, dropping to a four-point spread. The survey found that the race may be even tighter, depending on the turnout model used:
One model, which assumes a turnout level higher than the 2016 election, shows the two opponents separated by just three percentage points — 49 percent for Biden and 46 percent for Trump. Another model, which assumes lower turnout, separates Biden and Trump by a single percentage point, 48 percent and 47 percent, respectively.
“The Republican convention attempted to sow some seeds of doubt among core Democratic blocs, especially young and urban voters,” Monmouth University Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray said of the results.
Trump and Biden are expected to face-off at the first presidential debate at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 29.