Biden cuts crowd sizes at campaign events in effort to avoid protest: report
March 01, 2024
In an attempt to counter the tactics of pro-Palestinian protesters, President Joe Biden’s team is keeping his movements secret, avoiding college campuses, keeping public events small, and even hiring people to vet attendees at his events.
The efforts have been largely successful and have spared Biden any uncomfortable encounters for the most part. As NBC News points out, around five weeks ago Biden was interrupted repeatedly by protesters in Virginia during an abortion rights speech.
A Biden ally told NBC News that, although the efforts have resulted in less disruptions, the downside is he's not reaching as many voters.
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“The point is to reach as many voters as you can, and those small events don’t," the person said.
For a fundraiser this month that will feature former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Biden's people are discussing whether to hire a private company to vet attendees, NBC reported.
"The lowest-cost tickets will be set at a price still high enough — the campaign hopes — to interest only true supporters of Biden’s re-election effort, these people said," NBC News' report stated.
"Biden’s aides view events without disruptions as more valuable than larger ones where his message gets drowned out by protesters. They saw his Virginia speech as an inflection point that prompted them to rethink the sizes, audiences and locations of events for him and other top White House officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris," the report continued.
"The strategy shift is driven by concern that the protests get more attention than the events’ messages and showcase divisions within the Democratic Party over Biden’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas."
Vice President Kamala Harris' team has also employed similar tactics to avoid disruptions.
Read the full report over at NBC News.