In the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt launched radio “Fireside Chats” to assuage the fears of the American public. And as coronavirus scuttles fundraising events and stadium rallies, the candidates must reach people where they are. Maintaining contact will require, perhaps, a dedicated YouTube channel or a daily Facebook Live video, a Twitch channel or a podcast. Not everyone can livestream their chili prep like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but wouldn’t you enjoy a Twitch stream of President Donald Trump watching Fox and Friends? Or get into a real-life push-up contest with Democratic almost-nominee Joe Biden over Facebook Live? If you say no, that’s a bunch of malarkey. 

The Harvard-educated Army veteran and senator from Arkansas is known as a fiscal and social conservative … and a likely presidential contender in 2024. But this week, Cotton, 42, also became one of the first and most prominent Republicans endorsing an experiment in Universal Basic Income to help ease the financial burden of the coronavirus crisis on working families. His support of direct cash payments to households is a sign both of Democrat Andrew Yang’s bipartisan influence as well as the recent shift by young Republican senators toward the more populist economic positions championed by the Trump White House. And it’s a big reason why a massive stimulus, as of this writing, is steamrolling through Congress.

As many Americans are more glued to their phones and laptops than ever, the Biden campaign has responded with a Facebook spending bonanza. This past week, Biden spent nearly $1 million. That’s more than he spent the entire month of February and about 13 percent of the $7.6 million he’s spent thus far. While most ads have focused on getting people out to vote, expect messaging to shift as coronavirus concerns mount. The cash signals Biden’s resurgent front-runner status and his new emphasis on online outreach. But he still trails Trump, who has spent $33.8 million on Facebook since May of 2018. 

As he’s lurched from disinterested to angry to (at times) serious and decisive, Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis has been widely criticized. Which made us wonder: What was the absolute worst handling of a crisis by a president ever? Jimmy Carter and the Iran hostage crisis comes to mind, although Kanye would likely vote for George W. Bush’s Hurricane Katrina debacle. And where does Barack Obama’s non-existent red line in Syria’s civil war stand in the failed leadership echelons? Email us your thoughts at [email protected], and we will include the best responses in next week’s newsletter.

Last week, we asked for your dream new running-mate for Trump if he dumps Mike Pence at the altar. Patrick Pride nominated first daughter Ivanka Trump, while Cass Bettinger cheekily submitted Ronald McDonald.

Largely missed by the media amid the coronavirus chaos, Democratic primaries and economic turmoil, the U.S. in late February lifted a two-year-old ban on imports of fresh Brazilian beef. It’s a huge win for Brazil’s mini-Trump, Jair Bolsonaro, at a time when virus-scarred China is slashing beef imports. But with the U.S. spiraling into recession, it’s bad news for America’s cattle ranchers — a not-insignificant part of the president’s base in states like Texas, which Dems hope to put on the board this year.

Bernie Sanders joined TikTok this week and it got, well, weird. But hey, we say embrace the CGI goodness while you can (aka, before he drops out after his dismal results Tuesday).