Coronavirus Gives 2020 Candidates A Real-Time Test To Demonstrate How They’d React In A Crisis

The New York Times: How The Coronavirus Changed The 2020 Political Campaign
For the past year, the Democratic presidential candidates debated the merits of sweeping liberal ideas, fretted over notions of electability and bias, and rose and fell in the polls as voters struggled to choose a front-runner. And through it all, President Trump sniped from the sidelines, demonizing the party and its 2020 contenders as socialists. Almost overnight, everything has changed. Amid deepening uncertainty over a spreading virus and growing anxiety about an economic meltdown, that kind of classic presidential campaign ended and something extraordinary has begun: a real-time, life-or-death test of competency and leadership for those seeking the White House this November. (Lerer and Epstein, 3/12)

ABC News: Coronavirus Altering 2020 Election In Fundamental Ways 
The unprecedented nature of the rapid spread of the coronavirus has, in many ways, fundamentally altered the current phase of the 2020 election cycle... For some of the 2020 candidates, the pandemic has meant canceling events, hosting "virtual" versions of others, and a host of other changes. For other candidates, events continue as planned as they consult with public health officials. (Steakin, 3/12)

NBC News: Pandemic Politics: Coronavirus Forces Candidates To Shift To 'Virtual' Campaign
With the coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc on stock markets, sports leagues and everyday life, it comes as no surprise that the presidential race isn't being spared. Enter: the virtual campaign. Say goodbye to big rallies with long lines, smaller meet-and-greets, volunteers knocking on your door. All you'll need now to "attend" your favorite candidate's event is an internet-connected device — please do so in your pajamas if you like. (Edelman, 3/13)

Politico: Coronavirus Consumes Trump's Reelection Bid
When Donald Trump’s top campaign advisers met with the president in the White House Wednesday, they came prepared with reams of polling data on his standing with voters eight months out from the election. But Trump was focused on something else: The coronavirus. Before the group could begin their long-planned presentation on the 2020 race, the president launched into a commentary about how travel from Europe was “a mess” and needed to be shut down. (Isenstadt and Korecki, 3/13)

Modern Healthcare: Biden, Sanders Lay Out Coronavirus Response Plans
The two leading contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination laid out their plans to respond to COVID-19 on Thursday as markets reeled following an address from President Donald Trump. The plans from former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are the latest indication that response to the coronavirus outbreak will be an election issue.Both candidates called for affordable testing and treatment. Biden proposed waiving all out-of-pocket costs for testing, treatment, and an eventual vaccine and banning surprise medical bills. Sanders used the opportunity to highlight his single-payer healthcare proposal, which would not have deductibles or copays. (Cohrs, 3/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Joe Biden Offers His Own Plan For Coronavirus Response
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Thursday that the nation needs to harness a comprehensive public-health and economic response to the coronavirus, offering a look at how he would address a crisis in the White House. The former vice president, in a speech near his home in Wilmington, Del., said the nation must respond aggressively to combat the spread of the disease, with practices and staff he described as grounded in science. (Thomas, 3/12)

Politico: Biden Offers Coronavirus Plan, Rebuking Trump’s ‘America First’ Approach
[Biden] also painted a broader vision to restore the U.S. as a world leader — one day after President Donald Trump announced a shutdown of foreign travel from most European countries during an Oval Office address filled with errors that shook already troubled financial markets and confused the public. “We’ll never fully solve this problem if we’re unwilling to look beyond our own borders and engage fully with the rest of the world,” Biden said. “We have to confront the coronavirus everywhere.” (Canccryn, 3/12)

Bloomberg: Biden, Sanders Deliver Coronavirus Speeches To Contrast Trump
“Protecting the health and safety of the American people is the most important job of any president and unfortunately this virus laid bare the severe shortcomings of the current administration,” Biden said, reading from a TelePrompter in Wilmington, Delaware.On Wednesday night, Trump gave a prime-time address from the Oval Office where he announced new travel restrictions and executive actions to help people and businesses affected by the rapidly spreading virus. But, after the speech, the administration was forced to correct a number of the president’s assertions after he incorrectly described the administration’s actions. (Pager and Epstein, 3/13)

Politico: Sanders Warns Of Coronavirus ‘Meltdown’ On Par With World War II
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday offered a dark assessment of the coronavirus outbreak, warning that the nation is facing an unprecedented emergency on par with a world war. “The crisis we face from the coronavirus is on a scale of a major war, and we must act accordingly,” he said. “The number of casualties may actually be even higher than what the armed forces experienced in World War II. In other words, we have a major, major crisis and we must act accordingly.” (Cancryn, 3/12)

Politico: Coronavirus Crashes Biden Fundraising Plans
Coronavirus is throwing a huge wrench in Joe Biden’s fundraising plans just as he’s preparing to build up his campaign for a general election fight against President Donald Trump. The Biden campaign has postponed in-person fundraising events “indefinitely,” according to a memo distributed Thursday to staff and reviewed by POLITICO, instead replacing them with “virtual fundraisers” like conference calls or video events — a largely untested method of large-dollar political fundraising. The memo followed the cancellation of events Biden’s campaign had just scheduled in Miami, Chicago and the Tri-State area as state and local governments declared emergencies over the spread of coronavirus. (Severns and Kapos, 3/12)

The New York Times: Afraid Of Coronavirus? That Might Say Something About Your Politics
The coronavirus has been detected in more than 1,500 people across the United States. Public schools are closing and mass gatherings are being canceled. The National Collegiate Athletic Association called off its March Madness tournaments. The stock market took a historic plunge on Thursday. And yet polls show that many voters still don’t see the virus as a serious threat. How much it worries you depends heavily on your personal politics — to a degree that’s not typical for a national crisis. (Russonello, 3/13)

The New York Times: How 4 Big States Are Preparing To Vote As The Coronavirus Spreads
Elections officials in the next four Democratic primary states are taking extra precautions before voters head to the polls on Tuesday, as the coronavirus upends the 2020 race and people worry about gatherings and places where they might become infected. There are no plans to cancel primaries in the four states — Ohio, Florida, Illinois and Arizona — and officials are expressing confidence that ballots can be safely cast. (Corasaniti and Mazzei, 3/13)