Former President Barack Obama participated in a “socially distanced conversation” on video with his former vice president, presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. (Watch it below.)
The highly produced video from Biden’s campaign, released Thursday, shows the two leaders wearing masks before entering a room, and then sitting far apart when speaking face to face.
Much of the video contrasts President Donald Trump’s failure to contain the COVID-19 crisis with what Biden would do instead, as well as other areas where Trump has failed to demonstrate any leadership or empathy.
“You and I had experience dealing with health crises, public health crises,” Obama tells Biden in the video. “I have confidence that you’re going to actually listen to the experts, and you’re going to pay attention to the science, and you’re not going to quit on trying to actually bend down the curve of disease and transmission rates.”
Obama also praised Biden for his “willingness to listen and learn.”
“It is a sign of leadership when you are willing to hear other people’s experiences,” Obama said.
Biden’s campaign previously released excerpts from the conversation, including one featuring Obama and Biden discussing Trump’s failure to take responsibility for his disastrous response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and another of them discussing the death of Biden’s son Beau.
Though the pandemic has limited in-person campaigning, Obama previously participated in a digital fundraiser for Biden, in addition to Thursday’s video.
Watch the full video: