In an age of visual news, a tumultuous week of politics can quickly degenerate into something almost old-fashioned on Sunday: a printed statement.
President Joe Biden’s announcement that he would not run for a second term hit social media feeds at 1:46 p.m. ET, followed 33 minutes later by Vice President Kamala Harris’s endorsement. The president, who is still recovering from COVID-19, was not on camera, meaning there was little or no footage on the news.
There were also initial concerns that the president’s X feed had been hacked, as there was virtually no warning. The Associated Press issued a “flash” warning at 1:54 p.m. ET. Television networks reported the intrusion into their programming between 1:50 p.m. (Fox News Channel) and 2:04 p.m. (ABC).
The Associated Press called it “a late-season campaign storm like no other in American history.” CBS News analyst Ashley Etienne called it “an incredible day in American history.”
A week after we endlessly dissected the footage of former President Donald Trump being shot at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, followed by four days of carefully choreographed television drama at the Republican National Convention, a dramatic news story emerged that was lacking in visuals in almost every way.
Cable news shows, especially when covering live events or breaking news, rely on footage of the scene and its aftermath to provide a vital link between the talk show host and the anchor’s update. On Sunday, with no footage other than “B-roll,” or old footage of Biden, the news channels had to look elsewhere.
But they had a hard time finding anyone who could even talk about it. Ed Keefe, CBS’s White House correspondent, sounded out of breath when reached by phone. Because it was a summer Sunday afternoon, the first string of TV news was not immediately available, so Rachel Scott of ABC, Kristin Johnson of CBS and Hallie Jackson of NBC got a chance to do the initial reporting.
As the news broke, others rushed to their offices over the weekend: CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Fox News Channel’s John Roberts, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. ABC and CBS devoted more time to the story than NBC, which switched to NASCAR coverage 30 minutes later.
Biden’s former White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, sat down in the studio after the show on Sunday to give an update on her former boss.
Even before Harris issued a reprinted statement about two hours after Biden endorsed her as the nominee, the networks quickly pivoted to talking about a Harris-Trump primary showdown.
“Look at how fast politics moves,” ABC’s Terry Moran said by phone. “Joseph Biden spent 50 years in politics and reached the top, and now he’s yesterday’s news.”
That day is reminiscent of March 31, 1968, when President Lyndon Johnson shocked the nation by ending his 40-minute televised address to the nation by saying, “I will not seek, nor will I accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president.”
It was a complete surprise given the constant debate in politics over the past three weeks about whether the 81-year-old Biden, who performed dismally in the June 27 debate with Trump, could continue to be an effective candidate.
But Biden has repeatedly and adamantly insisted he will stay in the race, and Sunday morning political talk shows featured surrogates pushing that line. “He’s going to do what the American people want him to do, which is beat Donald Trump,” Biden campaign co-chairman Cedric Richmond said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Several reporters said even Biden’s White House and campaign staff were surprised by the announcement. Biden is expected to address the nation later this week.
TV political fanatics are almost thrilled at the prospect of news to come in the lead up to the Democratic National Convention, which begins in Chicago on August 19.
“This is going to be an incredible, historic sprint to the finish,” said CBS News White House correspondent Mary Bruce.
“Politics is going to be crazy over the next four weeks,” said Fox News commentator Dana Perino.
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David Bauder writes about media for AP. Follow him. http://twitter.com/dbauder.
