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This is a draft for a suggested TV spot by Joe Biden.
Hello. This message is especially for those of you who currently intend to vote for Donald Trump. I have a suggestion about how you can make sure that you will be able to do that. The suggestion is: stay alive until it’s time for the election. If you die before then, you won’t be able to vote.
Perhaps Mr. Trump will be having a campaign rally somewhere near you. Perhaps at this rally, people won’t be wearing masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
In that case, I have a further suggestion: don’t go to the rally. I understand that you might want to: perhaps you expect that you would enjoy yourself there. And if you do expect that, well, you know yourself better than I know you. And I’m not trying to spoil your fun just in order to be mean.
The only reason that I’m recommending that you stay away is that, if you go, you might catch the virus. And if you catch it, you might die. And if you die, you will lose your chance to vote for Mr. Trump.
I say that you “might” catch the virus, and, if you do, you “might” die. How likely are those things? I don’t know. Nobody does, not with any precision.
But there are a couple of things I feel pretty sure about. One is that, for people who catch the virus, the chance of dying from it is greater, the older you are. And the other thing I’m sure about is that attending a campaign rally will not improve your chances of staying alive long enough to vote.
It may seem strange that I am telling you this. Why am I giving you advice about how to stay alive long enough to vote … against me?
That’s a fair question. And in answer, I have a confession to make. I am trying to manipulate you. I am telling you how to ensure that you will be able to do something that you (currently) want to do: vote for Trump. My reason for doing that is to persuade you to do something that I want you to do: stay alive.
So don’t get me wrong. I want to win this election. And I’d love to have your vote. But I care more about your life.
This page created: 2020-06-29
This page last modified: 2020-06-29
© Copyright 2020 by Tom Edelson.