10 of the strangest moments of the 2020 presidential campaign
- Nearly two dozen candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination and each is making the case they are the best candidate to face off against President Donald Trump next year.
- But the ever-changing terrain of the campaign proves they are not immune to strange gaffes or awkward moments.
- Here are 10 strange things that have happened on the campaign trail so far.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The first Democratic primary debate has come and gone, and the 2020 presidential election is in full swing. Nearly two dozen candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination and each is making the case they are the best candidate to face off against President Donald Trump next year.
But the ever-changing terrain of the campaign proves they are not immune to strange gaffes or awkward moments.
Read more: There are 2 dozen 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, but it's really only a 5 person race
Former Vice President Joe Biden is leading the field, though his standing has eroded. He still has trouble with respecting others' personal space on the trail, while moderate candidates like Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper have struggled to connect with liberal voters who have booed them or responded with some cringe-inducing indifference.
Others, like New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, are simply trying too hard to be relatable and have invited ridicule in doing so.
Here are 10 strange things that have happened on the campaign trail so far:
Elizabeth Warren had a beer with her husband alongside her on Instagram Live — and thanked him for being in their own home.
Shortly after kicking off her presidential run in, Sen. Elizabeth Warren decided to mark the occasion with a beer.
"I'm going to get me a beer," the Massachusetts senator said in her kitchen. She invited her husband, Jim Warren, to join but he politely declined. Warren then thanked her husband for being with her in their home.
The video drew some mockery on social media for appearing too forced, CBS News reported.
Daily Show host Trevor Noah weighed in on Warren's Instagram Live video, saying, "It really is an interesting choice from Warren, just drinking alone in her kitchen. I guess she just wanted to start her campaign the same way Hillary ended hers, you know?"
"I'm gonna get me a beer": Sen. Elizabeth Warren drank a beer on Instagram Live – and it received mixed reactions. https://t.co/0LT6dtXXBH pic.twitter.com/NtNqJ0VddZ
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 2, 2019Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke joked about not being an important part of his own family.
Rep. Beto O'Rourke launched his presidential bid in March to much media fanfare, which included a cover story on Vanity Fair magazine with a photo shoot with the famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.
But it didn't take long for the former Texas representative to fly too close to the sun and tumble. Just a few hours into his nascent campaign, he joked that his wife raised their three children mostly on her own.
"I just got a call from my wife, Amy, who is back in El Paso, Texas where she is raising, sometimes with my help, Ulysses who is 12, Molly who is 10, and their little brother Henry who is 8 years old," O'Rourke said.
His remarks were widely criticized as insensitive and nonchalant. O'Rourke apologized a few days later and said he'd be more thoughtful talking about his marriage in the future.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar told an audience to clap for her when one of her lines fell flat during a CNN town hall.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar was pitching her crossover appeal and election victories in conservative districts at a CNN town hall in April, expecting it to be an applause line.
"When I started running for office, the other senator was Republican, the governor was Republican and three of our four constitutional officers were Republican," Klobuchar said. And then I started running, and every single time I've run, I've won every single congressional district in my state, including [former Rep.] Michele Bachmann's."
But her message fell flat with the audience.
"That's when you guys are supposed to cheer," she said, prodding the crowd into applauding.
The hashtag #PleaseClap started trending on Twitter shortly after and she drew comparisons to Jeb Bush, a 2016 Republican presidential candidate who did the same thing.
However, she did earn some applause throughout the town hall, including with an anecdote about Trump attacking her after launching her campaign in a blizzard.
"When he made fun of me for doing that, I said, 'Hey, Donald Trump. The science is on my side, and I'd like to see how your hair would fare in a blizzard, Mr. Umbrella Man,'" she said.
Amy Klobuchar has her "please clap" moment pic.twitter.com/b3SrveBeaf
— Aidan McLaughlin (@aidnmclaughlin) April 22, 2019Former Vice President Joe Biden continues to have uncomfortable interactions with women and girls on the campaign trail.
A self-described "tactile politician," former Vice President joe Biden vowed to be "more mindful and respectful of people's personal space" after four women said he had made them feel uncomfortable with how he had touched them.
But since launching his presidential bid in April, Biden has raised some eyebrows over his interactions with women and girls on the campaign trail.
In May, he told a ten-year-old girl "you're as bright as you are good-looking," took her to the assembled press at the back of the room and placed his hands on her shoulders as he talked.
Then in a June campaign swing through Iowa, Biden met a 13-year-old girl and then turned to her brothers, saying, "Keep the guys away from her."
"I bet you're as bright as you are good looking"
Joe Biden spoke to a young girl during a @AFTunion town hall meeting in Texas pic.twitter.com/M77ORvdHcM
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg was handed an alcoholic drink in a brown bag at a New York City park.
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg rode a wave of media interviews and social media interest to become one of the Democratic primary's unlikely top-tier candidates.
In an interview for the Showtime series "Desus and Mero," the comedy duo told Buttigieg he is "uptown-certified" and handed him a brown-bagged alcoholic drink.
"They say in New York City you're not allowed to have open containers, but if you put an alcoholic beverage in a brown bag, the cops don't see it," Desus says.
Buttigieg takes the drink, saying "When in Rome" and takes a quick swig out of the bottle.
Rep. Eric Swalwell compared the Democrats to the heroes from the "Avengers" comic book and the Republicans to the survivalist characters in the "Hunger Games."
At an Iowa Democratic party candidate forum in June, former candidate Eric Swalwell compared the Democrats to the heroes from the "Avengers" comic book and the Republicans to the hardcore survivalist characters in the "Hunger Games" books.
Swalwell said: "To my fellow candidates, I consider us all a part of being 'The Avengers.' The Republicans in 2016, that was 'The Hunger Games.' We are in this, and with your help and support, to save this country we love so much."
It drew mixed reactions online, with Trump organization executive Donald Trump Jr. being among the most prominent Republicans to rip into Swalwell for the comparison.
Swalwell dropped out of the race in July.
You know the “I’d love to have a beer with that guy” scale so many politicians get measured by? I think it’s safe to say that exactly ZERO people would want to have one with Eric Swalwell.
Swalwell Says He And Fellow Democrats Are Heroes Like The Avengers https://t.co/QJQuBUANWC
Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper leaned into his centrist platform at the California Democratic Primary Convention — and got repeatedly booed.
Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has struggled to break out in the national polls. And when he does register, its usually in the low single digits.
Yet his moderate image may not capture the combative mood of the party's left wing — and its been visible on the campaign trail.
At the California Democratic Primary Convention, Hickenlooper leaned into his centrist platform at the California Democratic Primary Convention and was booed when he said "socialism is not the answer."
He lost the room again when he spoke out against universal healthcare and parts of the Green New Deal.
Democrat John Hickenlooper:
“Socialism is not the answer”
“We shouldn’t try to achieve universal coverage by removing private insurance from 150 million Americans”
“We shouldn't try to tackle climate change by guaranteeing every American a gov job”
Crowd boos loudly each time pic.twitter.com/Q3Oosgd8Wf
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand awkwardly unwound at a gay bar in Iowa.
Gillibrand has already received some blowback for trying to run "a cool campaign" that may not be so cool. She ran an ad where she played beer pong with water and was also dinged for posting a workout video.
The junior senator from New York was on a three-day campaign swing through Iowa in early June to mark LGBT Pride month. She spent part of her time preparing drinks for the crowd, according to the Des Moines Register.
Then her campaign posted a video on its Instagram story of Gillibrand drinking and yelling, "Gay rights!"
The brief video sparked another wave of online ridicule.
Kirsten Gillibrand relaxes after working a gay bar in Iowa pic.twitter.com/JYiU3c0Oc9
— Behind 2020 (@Behind2020) June 8, 2019I’d be pounding shots if I was 0% in the polls too. pic.twitter.com/rsSCvd6qZW
— Natalie Johnson (@nataliejohnsonn) June 9, 2019This is so awkward and forced looking. Nothing relaxed about it.
— Elu Thingol 🧝🏻♀️🌷 (@Strangeland_Elf) June 8, 2019Author Marianne Williamson said at the first primary debates that Democrats need more than plans to defeat Trump in next year's presidential election.
Author and spiritual lecturer Marianne Williamson said at the second night of Democratic primary debates in late June that the raft of plans that all the candidates are rolling out are not enough to defeat President Donald Trump.
Williamson garnered attention for responding with off-beat and odd answers. Williamson later said that her first call if she were elected president would be to the prime minister of New Zealand to say that the United States would be the best place for a child to grow up.
She was the most searched candidate on Google that night and her previous tweets made her an overnight internet meme.
Marianne Williamson: "It's really nice that we've got all these plans, but if you think we're going to beat Donald Trump by just having all these plans, you've got another thing coming." #DemDebate2 pic.twitter.com/LyWDTNLwDe
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 28, 2019New York City Bill de Blasio spoke of his love of ska music.
Since launching his presidential bid in June New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio has had a few moments that drew mockery from social media for trying to appear relatable. During an interview on CNN's New Day, he shared that he had a love for ska music.
He also posted a series of text messages with his son, Dante, before appearing at the first Democratic primary debates.
In the exchanges, he asks Dante for advice on how to come off as relatable.
He responds that de Blasio can establish credibility by sharing the story of his marriage, reflecting on "how hard it is to find, like, 'the one' on tinder." Then he advises de Blasio to talk about his accomplishments in the city after making NBA jokes.
The chorus of responses were universal in mocking the mayor.
Read more:
The 9 most cringeworthy social-media fails of the 2020 presidential campaign
How Donald Trump's family came to America
Bill De Blasio: "I love ska." pic.twitter.com/zbdD0TFtKE
— Jon Dieringer (@jondotd) May 21, 2019Lucky to have the talented, debater Dante de Blasio helping me get ready for Wednesday! pic.twitter.com/my51wahM6S
— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) June 24, 2019Jesus Christ dude have some dignity
— Conor Fitzgerald (@fitzfromdublin) June 24, 2019Normal people conversing normally
— 🐉💨 (@papapicklez) June 24, 2019There’s somebody out there that actually thought this was a good idea. Let that sink in for a bit.
— Dave Whitman (@DaveWhitman) June 24, 2019