--- title: 100 Days, the Global Pandemic Edition description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. canonical: https://time.com/6041293/biden-100-days-pandemic/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-04-30T18:23:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T09:55:10.249Z article:section: Politics og:title: 100 Days, the Global Pandemic Edition og:description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. og:url: https://time.com/6041293/biden-100-days-pandemic/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd63eb4fbd62c7929/698a19438fd2ee2051362880/joe-biden-100-days.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-BIDEN og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 100 Days, the Global Pandemic Edition twitter:description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd63eb4fbd62c7929/698a19438fd2ee2051362880/joe-biden-100-days.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 100 Days, the Global Pandemic Edition > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f44a1b32-d5a5-443d-bc03-eb1abbcfdd80&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Apr 30, 2021 6:23 PM UTC  President Joe Biden speaks during a drive-in rally at Infinite Energy Center in Duluth, Ga. on April 29, 2021. President Joe Biden speaks during a drive-in rally at Infinite Energy Center in Duluth, Ga. on April 29, 2021. Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Apr 30, 2021 6:23 PM UTC _This article is part of the The DC Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up_ [_here_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletter%5Fopt-in?qs=3a19a0aa35903a2d9f214b74f69a37910b58de73cf3f2b89adc123fac024f0478c72f91010ae9d01f08f46c616068cab3e74726837cd2cce70dac3796e46c2b4) _to get stories like this sent to your inbox every weekday._ There are a few things that pester political pros, regardless of political party. The media’s fixation on debate performances, a function that has absolutely nothing to do with the actual job as an elected official. The expectation-setting for end-of-quarter fundraising that ignores the actual overhead needs. The obsession over how many supporters’ email addresses are in the campaign database, as though that corresponds to the clout inside a caucus. None, however, irks insiders in a presidential operation like the 100-Day contest. FDR more or less screwed over every one of his successors when he laid down the marker in 1933, saying he’d launch a New Deal agenda to end the Great Depression in that short window. From that point forward, every President has at once tried to match the expectations of the moment when an administration hits the 100-day mark and tried to reject what is — truly — an arbitrary barometer of a Presidency. Well, Joe Biden hit his 100 days yesterday. He used his first turn before a joint session of Congress this week to preach a sermon of accomplishment and dangle the prospects of a sequel. But when it came time to actually toast the occasion, he did what no President before him had done. He staged a drive-in rally. That’s right. Even with the tide seeming to turn against the [pandemic](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/covid-cases-dropping/2021/04/30/0f0bb988-a845-11eb-bca5-048b2759a489%5Fstory.htmlm) in the U.S., Biden doesn’t have a lot of options on how he can mix with his supporters. There are still more than [50,000](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends%5Fdailytrendscases) new cases every day; a mass rally without social distancing only begs trouble. So he did the next best thing. In Duluth, Ga., Biden’s supporters brought their pickups and minivans to the parking lot of an arena complex for an abbreviated version of what he told Congress. Arbitrary or no, the split screen between Biden at 100 Days and his predecessors was telling of the fundamentally changed country we’re living in at this moment. When Donald Trump hit the marker, he was in Harrisburg, Pa., for a rally that doubled as counter-programming for the White House Correspondents Association black-tie dinner. Barack Obama scheduled a prime-time news conference — an event Biden still hasn’t attempted. George W. Bush’s 100th day fell on a Sunday, so he followed up the next day with a lunch with Congressional leaders. Bill Clinton used his to thank members of Hillary Clinton’s health care task force, which ultimately proved a failure. Biden doesn’t have the same luxury. He’s finding himself boxed in on what he can do, much the way he found himself during a pandemic-leveled campaign. Even at the end of his rally, his instincts kicked in to connect with supporters. Try as he could to reach across the twin rows of bike racks that separated him from the crowd , he just couldn’t manage the one-on-one interactions that were a hallmark of his pre-pandemic campaign. It’s not just Biden navigating these challenges in the pandemic’s twilight. Bon Jovi, Grace Potter and Travis Tritt are heading on tour as such this summer for at least some dates. And countless high school graduations are still being lit by the minivan’s high-beams for a second time in as many years this spring. As much as his critics mocked Biden’s choice to keep his events in parking lots for now, he might have found a format that has resonance that Washington simply doesn’t understand. Upon finishing his 22-minute remarks in Georgia, Biden found himself in a spot familiar to most people watching: he misplaced his mask. “I’m looking for my mask. I’m in trouble,” Biden said as he poked around the podium with the help of his wife. Finding none, Biden’s personal aide Stephen Goepfert brought a spare one to the stage. That gig used to require a bag with sharpies and cough drops. The fact that it now requires carrying extra PPE for the President is yet another reminder that Biden’s first 100 days, like his next, will be like none other. _Make sense of what matters in Washington._ [_Sign up for the daily D.C. Brief newsletter._](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/politics?source=dc%5Farticle) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6041293/biden-100-days-pandemic/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6041293/biden-100-days-pandemic/"},"headline":"100 Days, the Global Pandemic Edition","datePublished":"2021-04-30T18:23:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T09:55:10.249Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/6041293/biden-100-days-pandemic/","keywords":["The D.C. 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