Former Vice President Joe Biden has canceled plans to launch his 2020 bid for the White House in Charlottesville, Va., where a woman protesting a white nationalist rally was murdered when a car was driven into a crowd of activists in 2017.
The last-minute change of plan could be an indication of disorganization in the Biden campaign organization, despite the many months it has had to prepare as the former 36-year senator from Delaware procrastinated over his announcement.
Aides to Biden had briefed journalists about the plan for Wednesday, which liberal activist groups in Charlottesville told the Washington Examiner had prompted opposition, with some residents unhappy about the scene a tragedy the city would prefer to forget being used as a campaign launch backdrop.
With no direct connection to Charlottesville, some viewed the move as disrespectful and capitalizing on the death of activist Heather Heyer, 32, during the “Unite the Right” rally in August 2017.
Biden spokesman Bill Russo confirmed to the Washington Examiner that Biden would not announce in Charlottesville, Va. Instead, he is expected to declare his candidacy in Pittsburgh before flying to Philadelphia for a second event. Biden, 76, was born in Scranton, Pa., which is located more than 120 miles north of Philadelphia.
“Would refer you to this in regards to this rumor,” Bill Russo told the Washington Examiner, citing a tweet from Edward-Isaac Dovere of the Atlantic on Friday stating that the campaign had “no plan for an event in Charlottesville,” despite the idea having “been discussed along the way by some.”
source close to Biden tells me just now that there is no plan for an event in Charlottesville (though it had been discussed along the way by some) https://t.co/Q2mND1LqFy
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) April 19, 2019
Reports have been circulating since last week that Biden hoped to launch his campaign in the college town and the location of the violent rally where a white nationalist murdered Heyer.
Despite his delay in announcing and allegations from a string of women of inappropriate touching, Biden leads the crowded 2020 Democratic primary field, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls.
