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The coronavirus election

Listen to Ezra Klein and Matt Yglesias discuss Donald Trump’s disastrous coronavirus speech and dueling pandemic response plans from Sanders and Biden.

by Matthew Yglesias and Ezra Klein
Democratic presidential hopefuls Joe Biden, left, and Bernie Sanders onstage at the presidential debate in Washington, DC, on March 15, 2020. 
Democratic presidential hopefuls Joe Biden, left, and Bernie Sanders onstage at the presidential debate in Washington, DC, on March 15, 2020. 
Democratic presidential hopefuls Joe Biden, left, and Bernie Sanders onstage at the presidential debate in Washington, DC, on March 15, 2020.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

This week, President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential contenders Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders each gave separate speeches in response to the rapidly escalating coronavirus pandemic in the United States. What did they say? How do their responses differ? And what do those speeches tell us about their future (or current) administrations? Vox’s Ezra Klein and Matt Yglesias discuss on this week’s 2020 election edition of The Weeds.

Then, how will coronavirus impact the general election in November? Matt and Ezra run through the political science research on how economic growth correlates with electoral success, how analogous situations (like severe weather events) have impacted past elections, and more. Hint: Things don’t look so great for Donald Trump.

You can listen to the full episode by subscribing to The Weeds on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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