WILMINGTON, Del. _ The Biden-Harris presidential ticket made its pandemic-inflected debut on Wednesday, forgoing the conventional giddiness of an introductory campaign event for a more somber tone centered on the challenges facing the nation.
Instead of cheering crowds and waving campaign signs, there were face masks and temperature checks, as presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his vice presidential pick, California Sen. Kamala Harris, appeared as running mates for the first time at a high school in Biden's hometown of Wilmington.
"Kamala, as you all know, is smart. She's tough. She's experienced. She's a proven fighter for the backbone of this country," Biden said.
Harris, meanwhile, touted Biden as the answer to a country "crying out for leadership."
"Here's the good news," she said. "We don't have to accept the failed government of Donald Trump and Mike Pence. In just 83 days, we have the chance to choose a better future for our country."
The traditional pageantry of such a major moment in a presidential campaign was jettisoned for a tightly controlled event, constrained by the COVID-19 pandemic. One day after Biden announced his decision via text message to supporters, the two took the stage donning black face coverings and coordinated blue suits, taking pains to maintain social distance as they traded off turns at the podium to both sell their political partnership and take swings at President Donald Trump.
The two-day rollout of the decision gave the campaign a longer stretch of media attention _ a much-sought commodity for a candidate who has struggled to break through to voters without holding traditional rallies and at a time when the nation is preoccupied with pressing concerns about health, the economy and racial justice.
Still, the specter of the coronavirus pandemic was inescapable. Attendance was sharply limited to a few dozen reporters, who sat in circles painted on the basketball court floor to keep distance from one another to avoid spreading the virus. There were roughly as many flags lined up behind the podium as there were people allowed in the room.
But several months into this pandemic, and after dozens of events in which Biden has not addressed a crowd but just a camera in his basement or on his back porch, the lack of an audience didn't make the former vice president falter. He has become accustomed to speaking over the physical void and into the virtual one, delivering each of his applause lines as if they were met with loud approval, even as the room Wednesday remained eerily silent.
He approached the occasion with solemnity, noting it was the third anniversary of a white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginai, that he saw as such an affront to the country's values that it prompted his presidential run.
He described his relationship with his potential vice president in weighty terms, saying he asked Harris to be the final sounding board before he made decisions, much like the role he played to former President Barack Obama.
"I asked Kamala to be the last one in the room. To always tell me the truth, which she will. To challenge my assumptions if she disagrees. Ask the hard questions," he said. "That's the way we make the best decisions for the American people."
Adding to the pensive air was the frequent mention of Biden's late son, Beau, who died from brain cancer five years ago. Harris' longstanding friendship with the younger Biden, who served as Delaware's attorney general when she occupied the same post in California, was the foundation of their bond.
"Beau was the kind of guy who inspired people to be a better version of themselves. He really was the best of us," Harris said, as Biden listened with visible emotion on his face. "And when I would ask him 'Where'd you get that? Where did this come from?' he'd always talk about his dad."
There were no signs of lingering tension between the two former rivals, more than a year after a Democratic primary debate in which Harris, then a presidential candidate, confronted Biden for his record on civil rights issues and statements showing pride in his ability to work with Southern segregationists early in his Senate career.
Harris demonstrated the skill that was a big part of her appeal as a candidate _ her ability to deliver a lacerating critique of Trump.
"As somebody who has presented by fair share of arguments in court, the case against Donald Trump and Mike Pence is open and shut," Harris said, an echo of the prosecutorial theme of her unsuccessful presidential bid.
Democrats welcome the contrast Harris will provide in what will likely be the high point of the campaign for her: the debate with Vice President Michael Pence. As an energetic woman of color who is the daughter of immigrants, she will present a stark contrast with the low-key white Trump lieutenant who will doubtless have to defend the administration against charges of racism and sexism.
Harris has proven to be an effective if uneven debater, performing better when she has a scripted line of attack than when she has to extemporize.
Biden, meanwhile, pointedly promised to be on alert for negative attacks against his running mate. Noting that Trump already laced into Harris, calling her "nasty," he vowed to "have her back" against the incoming from Republicans.
"She's going to stand with me in this campaign and all of us are going to stand up for her," he said.
The pair wrapped after roughly 35 minutes, waving to the sparse onlookers, but forgoing the traditional hugs or triumphant hand raises and standing just far enough apart.
