Despite COVID-19 Pandemic, Trump 2020 Campaign Is Firing on All Cylinders

We are less than 200 days away from the presidential election, and while President Trump is busy with the response to the pandemic, his re-election campaign is gearing up for Nov. 3.

CBN News Chief Political Analyst David Brody talked with Marc Lotter, the campaign's director of strategic communications, about its massive volunteer effort, along with the criticism aimed at President Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic.

David Brody: "What does campaigning look like right now specifically as it relates to this coronavirus situation. What are you guys doing exactly?

Marc Lotter: "Well, I think one of the biggest misconceptions was that just what you saw in the President's rallies where the campaign and really all of the legwork the basic blocking and tackling, it was going on before the Coronavirus and it's going on during the Coronavirus. In fact, we have made about 10 million phone calls in about the last month added nearly 300,000 volunteers in just the last month alone and of course, our fundraising is continuing to be very, very strong. And that's because we have such a huge digital presence and data advantage. So while the president the vice president are focused on doing what they're supposed to be doing in the White House, dealing with the Coronavirus, the real the basic work of the campaign goes on and it continues on virtually even if it's not out there on a stage."
 
David Brody: "So you clearly believe you have an advantage from a virtual standpoint over Joe Biden, not just the bully pulpit, but what you're doing from a campaign standpoint?"
 
Marc Lotter: "Oh, there's no question and I mean, we all we already know, we had the digital advantage from 2016. And all we have done is grow that presence even more, in fact, you know, it's been widely reported and discussed how sophisticated the digital operation that we have is, and the way the campaign is organized under Brad Parscale. We are very nimble, our ability to tailor our message to reach out to people with messages that impact them is rivaled by no one it is clearly above and beyond. And meanwhile, when you see Joe Biden's still struggling, barely able to get a couple of hundred thousand people may be on a good day to watch any of his videos compared to our millions. And that's not even with the President. That's with people like me. When we can do that, we've got a pretty strong foundation of support." 
 
David Brody: "Mark some criticism for the president, obviously on the coronavirus situation, the Pew Research poll just out on the last day or so saying that most Americans thought he was a bit slow to respond. I know China and the travel ban and all I get all that. But this is what Americans are saying at least in a pretty respected pew poll. They're also saying that they're concerned that we may go a little too fast back to reopen the economy. how much of this is going to be on the president to make sure this goes well, otherwise, that could be problems for the campaign going forward?"
 
Marc Lotter:  "Well, when you're the leader when you're the elected official, it all falls upon you. And a lot of people I think are giving the president, correctly, praise for acting when he did to shut down travel from China in the affected area. While at the same time you had the mayor of New York, you had Nancy Pelosi encouraging people to continue to go out and celebrate the Chinese, the Lunar New Year in their communities you had obviously, you know, a lot of problems with that. And the President was attacked for being xenophobic and racist by Joe Biden and many other people when he took that decisive early step. And I think as we start to come out of this, and as we see states emerging from the shutdowns, as we see the economy kicking back up, then I think people are going to realize that the way the president handled this was best for our public health and our economic health. And to be honest with you, when you're looking at that economy that strong economy we had going into it, thank goodness we had a strong economy going into it. When you compare that with Joe Biden and the architects of the slowest economic recovery since the Great Depression. I think a lot of people are going to say we want the man who built the rocket ship to get us back on that rocket ship, post Coronavirus, and that'll be an easy choice with President Trump. So I think as more and more people emerge from this, they will have more comfort in the fact of how this was handled, and how we're preparing for the next one  And that bodes well for President Trump."

HEAR MORE reports from David Brody at his podcast: The Pod's Honest Truth

FOR CBN NEWS CONTINUING COVERAGE ON COVID-19, CLICK HERE.