Faced with a Donald Trump with 80 million followers on Twitter and his campaign team focused on the internet for almost four years now, Joe Biden is working hard to strengthen his online presence in a presidential campaign disrupted by the Covid pandemic- 19.
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Confined to his home since March, the Democratic candidate for the White House will have to go further than his too static interventions, broadcast online from his basement, and the messages too agreed on Twitter if he wants to win in November, had publicly worried about big names in his party.
Especially since while struggling to be heard, with its 5.3 million followers on Twitter, the accusation of sexual assault of a woman, Tara Reade, dating back to the 1990s, found a strong echo online.
The team of the former American vice-president has just announced that it doubled the workforce of its digital sphere, which was around 25 people during the Democratic primary. And a manager said Monday, May 11, AFP that the goal was now to flood the various platforms on the internet.
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" Until now, his campaign seemed to be very old fashioned, with no thought of digital at all, " said Lori Coleman, director of online strategy at DemCast, a progressive organization independent from Joe Biden's team. " Before the coronavirus, the traditional way of campaigning was very advantageous for Joe, " she told AFP. The candidate, aged 77, is known for his sense of the field and his expressions of empathy. " So I don't think they were very well positioned to suddenly switch to a more digital campaign when the virus hit ."
Opposite, in a strong symbol of the importance that the Donald Trump team has attached to social networks for four years already, it is the person in charge of its digital strategy in 2016, Brad Parscale, who this time directs the presidential campaign of the billionaire.
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Since the parliamentary and local elections in the fall of 2018, his team has already spent some $ 56 million on Facebook and Google ads, compared to $ 19.6 million for Joe Biden since entering the campaign a year ago, according to Acronym. , a progressive organization.
"Still time"
But in March, the Democrat spent more than Donald Trump on these two platforms. And his online videos have been viewed more than 110 million times since the start of containment, said one in his team.
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If they recognize that there were only a few of them so far, members of Joe Biden's digital team now hope to increase their strike force tenfold with new recruits who previously worked for former Democratic candidates to strong online presence: Beto O'Rourke, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren ... This team will have to “ dialogue with (and build) online communities ” of supporters, wrote Friday Rob Flaherty, director of digital strategy for Joe Biden. He announced three major recruitments, responsible in particular for developing video content and the image of a brand new site, he rejoiced in an allusion to the rather classic style of the current one.
Donors will also need to be mobilized, he said. In April, Joe Biden and the Democratic Party raised $ 60 million, the candidate announced Monday, even as the coronavirus crisis hit the United States and put its campaign on hold. After Donald Trump, the septuagenarian said Monday before donors that voters would thirst for " authenticity and honesty " that he could give them, while promising to rebuild an economy ravaged by the pandemic. " He is ready to lead in such a time of crisis, and he has the compassion and empathy that Trump sorely lacked during his presidency, " Joe Gok spokesman Mike Gwin told AFP. Biden.
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If she says she is " very worried " about the advance taken online by the president, Lori Coleman believes that Joe Biden has " still time " to bridge the gap: " I am happy to see his team really strengthening its digital presence " , she said. Those around him point to polls that give him an advantage over Donald Trump, even if they should be taken with caution at this stage.
