Biden's press pool left behind after plane malfunctions

The Democratic presidential candidate travels with two planes due to Covid-19 protocols

Joe Biden is in Toledo, Ohio but his traveling press pool is not.

The Democratic presidential nominee travels with two planes, a departure from most recent major party nominees. The campaign attributes the setup to Covid-19 protocols. 

One of the Biden campaign planes is for the candidate, his staff and Secret Service detail. The other is for reporters, photographers and videographers who cover his campaign, along with one senior Biden aide and a Secret Service agent.

But on Monday morning, the press plane had a malfunction and remained grounded in Wilmington, Delaware. Because Mr Biden’s plane always takes off first, the candidate was on his way to Ohio.

There still will be some media in attendance in Toledo.

The Biden campaign has said the press pool should be reunited with Biden for a second Ohio event in Cincinnati later on Monday.

President Donald Trump’s traveling press corps now flies with him on Air Force One. 

But when he was a candidate in 2016, Mr Trump also relegated the press to its own plane, while he traveled on the Trump Organization’s Boeing 757 dubbed “Trump Force One.”

Associated Press