Joe Biden’s “Virtual Rally” in Tampa quite literally looked like a joke.
The video was glitchy, feeds were delayed, audio and video cut out and Joe Biden himself appeared pixelated.
It was an absolute dumpster fire.
At one point over 2,600 people joined in, but that dropped to about 2,000 due to the frustrating technical glitches.
The Tampa Bay Times was brutal when they covered the live-streamed rally.
The first event featured a discussion with African American leaders from Jacksonville. That one was not broadcast. Considering what happened next in Tampa, that might have been a smart move.
The 5:15 p.m. “virtual rally” ostensibly set in Tampa streamed live on YouTube. Sort of.
Biden’s campaign tried to make the e-rally feel as close to a normal political celebration as possible. A Tampa DJ played warm-up music between speakers. A Jesuit High School student read the pledge of allegiance from what appeared to be his home.
But the livestream of the rally was beset by technological failures. Speakers, including U.S. Reps. Charlie Crist, Kathy Castor, and State Sen. Janet Cruz, appeared pixelated. Their feeds were visibly delayed as if they were transmitting from Afghanistan, not Tampa Bay.
At one point, the stream cut to black with no audio for several minutes.
The opening was nigh-unto painful. After 40 minutes of glitches, Biden appears, wearing his aviators just…standing waiting for 7 seconds after his introduction. He then says, “Just me? Am I on?” and then addresses the “crowd.”
WATCH: The first moments of Joe Biden's audio glitch-filled "virtual rally" were painful.
"Did they introduce me? Am I on?"
Good luck, Joe! pic.twitter.com/NiNojhpUec
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) May 7, 2020
The whole thing was like that.
Even Biden seemed to acknowledge the absurdity of a rally “in” a place, the internet, that has no location.
“I wish we could have done this together and it had gone a little more smoothly,” Biden said, looking into the camera. “But, ha, I’m grateful that we’re able to connect virtually.”
But the glitches continued. And some were Biden’s. He thanks Castor, but it sounded like he called her “Rep. Castro.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times
It’s not a great look for someone running on “competence” to be incapable of conducting a live-stream event on YouTube. Especially since live-stream events are commonly done by vloggers with very simple equipment.
Problem with @JoeBiden is you can’t tell if it’s a bad feed during his virtual Tampa “rally” or if he just sounds that way. #technicaldifficulties
— Florida GOP (@FloridaGOP) May 7, 2020
Several Twitter users noted that the terrible feed made Joe Biden look like the old 80’s character, Max Headroom.
Joe Biden doing his Max Headroom impression. Look it up, kiddos. https://t.co/s8kNQxdMmT
— Ben Hauck 🌹 (@fightdenial) May 7, 2020
On April 28, pro-MAGA meme-maker Something Wicked produced this little gem noting the same thing, but not with technical difficulties, just Joe in his own words.
https://twitter.com/som3thingwicked/status/1255247394196852745?s=20
Joe Biden does well in the polls when Joe Biden doesn’t appear in public.
That’s because when Biden appears in public, the public can see who he is–and they don’t really like it.
Good luck, Joe!
