Joe Biden to make first 2020 Miami appearance at NBC town hall Monday
Joe Biden is coming to Miami for the first time since he clinched the Democratic presidential nomination.
NBC News announced Tuesday that Biden will participate in a town hall event moderated by anchor Lester Holt on Monday, October 5. The event, which will include a socially-distanced audience of undecided Florida voters outside at Pérez Art Museum Miami, will air on NBC at 8p.m. ET for one hour.
NBC said it extended a similar offer to President Donald Trump.
Monday’s event is the beginning of NBC Nightly News “Across America” series, which will also include coverage of voters in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Trump won all four states during his 2016 victory, though he currently trails in most polls conducted in those four swing states.
Biden hasn’t visited Miami since September 2019, months before the Democratic presidential primary began. Biden and other Democrats largely avoided Florida during the latter part of 2019 to focus on early primary states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Florida’s presidential primary in March came after the coronavirus pandemic shut down in-person campaigning, and Biden had built a large delegate lead over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Democratic vice president nominee Kamala Harris visited Miami earlier this month meeting with Black voters, college students, Jewish and Hispanic voters in a six-hour span. Biden also visited Florida two weeks ago, though his appearances were in Tampa and Orlando.
Trump has campaigned in person across Florida in recent weeks. In the last month, he announced a temporary offshore drilling ban in Jupiter, held a rally in Jacksonville and hosted an event touting his work with Miami’s Latino community. He’s also announced plans for a campaign rally in Orlando on Friday.
Biden and Trump will both be in Miami for the second presidential debate on October 15 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.
Miami Herald staff writer David Smiley contributed to this report.
