In an intensely visual news world, a seismic week of politics was transformed again in an instant on Sunday by something almost old-fashioned: a printed statement.
President Joe Biden’s announcement that he would not run for a second term was posted to his social media feed at 1:46 p.m. Eastern, followed 33 minutes later by an endorsement from his vice president, Kamala Harris. The president was still recovering from COVID and did not appear on camera. That meant little to no footage for the news broadcasts.
There was also virtually no warning, leading to initial concerns that the president’s X-feed had been hacked. The Associated Press filed a “flash” alert at 1:54 PM Eastern. Television networks broke into programming between 1:50 p.m. (Fox News Channel) and 2:04 p.m. (ABC).
It was, the Associated Press wrote, “a thunderbolt in the late-season campaign unlike anything seen in American history.” CBS News analyst Ashley Etienne called it “an incredible day in American history.”
After a week steeped in the endlessly repeated and dissected video of former President Donald Trump being shot at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, and the carefully choreographed four-day Republican National Convention television show that followed, here was a dramatic news story that lacked the visual element in almost every respect.
Cable news programs, especially when it comes to live events or breaking news, rely on video of a scene and its aftermath to provide the all-important connecting thread between talking heads and anchor updates. With no video other than “b-roll” or old footage of Biden on Sunday, news outlets had to go elsewhere.
But they even had to go out of their way to find people who could even talk about it. CBS White House correspondent Ed Keefe sounded out of breath when reached on the phone. Because it was a summer Sunday afternoon, the first wave of TV news was not immediately available, giving ABC’s Rachel Scott, CBS’ Kristine Johnson, and NBC’s Hallie Jackson the opportunity to anchor the initial reports.
As the news sank in, others interrupted their weekends to rush to an office — Wolf Blitzer on CNN, John Roberts on Fox News Channel, Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. ABC and CBS spent more time on the story than NBC, which switched to NASCAR coverage after half an hour.
Biden’s former White House press secretary Jen Psaki was in a studio after finishing her Sunday show, forcing her to break the news about her former boss.
The networks quickly turned to talk of a presidential contest between Harris and Trump, even before Harris announced — again via a printed statement — about two hours after Biden’s endorsement that she would be a candidate.
“Look how fast politics moves,” ABC’s Terry Moran said by phone. “Joseph Biden, after 50 years in politics during which he reached the highest levels, is now yesterday’s news.”
The day was reminiscent of March 31, 1968, when President Lyndon Johnson shocked the country at the end of a forty-minute televised address to the nation by saying, “I will not seek my party’s nomination, nor will I to accept. for another term as your president.”
That was a complete surprise, compared to the seemingly endless discussion that has consumed the political world over the past three weeks about whether the 81-year-old Biden could effectively remain a candidate after his disastrous performance in a June 27 debate against Trump.
But Biden had repeatedly and emphatically pushed to stay in the race, and Sunday morning political talk shows featured surrogates pushing that line. “He’s going to do what the American people expect him to do, and that is to beat Donald Trump,” Biden campaign co-chairman Cedric Richmond said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Several reporters talked about how even the Biden White House and campaign staffers were surprised by the announcement. Biden is expected to address the nation later this week.
TV political junkies were almost giddy at the prospect of the news that would be created through the Democratic National Convention, which will begin on August 19 in Chicago.
“This will be a truly amazing, historic sprint to the finish line,” said CBS News White House correspondent Mary Bruce.
Fox News commentator Dana Perino said, “The politics are going to be absolutely insane over the next four weeks.”
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David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him up http://twitter.com/dbauder.
