ABSTRACT
In late spring 2020, Donald Trump and Joe Biden were locking down their respective nominations for President of the United States, casting dramatically different visions for the nation’s future. Both had successfully negotiated their fates in equally different fashion – one by easily mustering huge support with no opposition (Trump), the other by careening through a remarkably diverse field of candidates (Biden). Their paths were not significantly different from previous incumbent-challenger races: incumbents usually are heavily favored within their parties and in the general election because voters have repeatedly shown that they fear change over nearly every other metric in polling data. This chapter charts and critiques the courses of the Trump and Biden press strategies, the significant choices they made throughout the campaign, how Biden transitioned his strategy, and the consequences of their strategy decisions. It is based on information gleaned from interviews conducted by journalists around the globe.
