Joe Biden's top advisers reassured supporters Friday that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is on a solid path to the presidency amid concerns within the party that his campaign has been too slow to scale up for the general election.
"I think everyone's really adjusted to this new normal, so I truly believe voters, our volunteers, our activists and supporters, get as much on hearing from the VP and connecting with him in a virtual setting now as they would if he was out in person, so I really feel like we're doing the business of campaigning in an aggressive way," campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon said Friday on a conference call with reporters.
Biden was beginning his third month self-isolated at his Delaware home and campaigning from a basement room.
Unlike Biden, President Donald Trump has traveled to the electoral battleground states of Arizona and Pennsylvania, prompting some Democrats to worry that Biden's decision to stay put in line with his state's public health advisories gives the incumbent an unfair advantage.
O'Malley Dillon said the campaign was putting public safety first and would not begin public events "a day sooner" than officials say is appropriate.
O'Malley argued that Biden's homebound campaigning hasn't hurt him because "our poll numbers continue to be ahead nationally and in battleground states." She added that "while this is a topic that comes up a lot amongst us, you know, reporters asking us, it is not a topic that is represented in how voters are looking at the choice in this election or the kind of leadership they need so we feel good about where we are and the work we're doing to reach people now."
O'Malley Dillon's press briefing came ahead of a similar update she and chief strategist Mike Donilon is scheduled to give later Friday to major donors.
The Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee have a combined $103 million in cash on hand, which is dwarfed by the $255 million that the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee reported earlier this week.
"We feel very comfortable the campaign has the organization and the resources we need to win," O'Malley Dillon said.
The coffers for Biden and the DNC climbed from $62 million at the end of March and narrowed the GOP cash advantage by $30 million. Trump's campaign, the Republican National Committee and two fundraising vehicles had a combined $255 million in the bank at the end of April.
O'Malley Dillon promised "a number of significant" hires would be announced in the next 10 days. Leadership responsible for battleground states will be on board in June, as well more than 600 organizing staff for those states. The campaign's expectation is that some of those staff will be able to work person-to-person while others may have to remain remote, depending on local public health guidelines.
"We will never make any choices that put our staff or voters in harm's way," she said. The campaign is also preparing to roll out a new website and live-streaming platform, among other technology updates, and hopes to run a "digital campaign with heart," O'Malley Dillon said.
O'Malley Dillon said the campaign had grouped battleground states into three categories: five states Hillary Clinton won in 2016 as states they expect to hold, seven states Barack Obama won and Clinton lost as states they are focused on winning back, and three states _ Arizona, Texas and Georgia _ they are hoping to flip from Republican to Democrat. In particular, O'Malley Dillon said she is "bullish" on Biden's prospects in Arizona, highlighting the gains Democrats have made in the state in recent years and the strength of Mark Kelly's campaign for Senate there.
O'Malley Dillon and Donlion also pointed to battleground state polls in Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona that show Biden winning, arguing that Biden's lead in those states six months away from the election underscores Trump's weakness as an incumbent, which they believe have been further damaged by his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
"The country is in a national crisis," Donlion said. Normally, "a sitting president of the United States would see their numbers skyrocket. That didn't happen. The numbers for governors skyrocketed. The numbers for leaders around the world skyrocketed. They didn't skyrocket for Trump. In fact, in many ways, they're worse."
