Politics

Joe Biden Hired A Speech Coach One Day After Debate Performance

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Former Vice President Joe Biden hired a speech coach a day after his June performance at a 2020 Democratic presidential debate.

Biden’s campaign paid Sheehan Associates $5,300 for “strategic consulting” on June 28, records from Biden’s second-quarter Federal Election Commission filing reveal, the Washington Examiner reported Wednesday.

The former vice president’s support dropped 10 percentage points after his debate performance, according to a Morning Consult-FiveThirtyEight poll.

Sheehan Associates advertises itself as a consulting firm specializing in communication training. Led by Michael Sheehan, the firm boasts a clientele including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., the American Bar Association, Planned Parenthood and U.S. Postal Service.

Sheehan’s “expertise embraces every format and every forum whether media interview, major speech or high-stakes Q&A. His ability to help people communicate at the highest possible level was dubbed by New York Magazine as ‘the Sheehan effect,'” the Sheehan Associates website says.

This is not the first time Biden has hired Sheehan Associates. Biden’s campaign paid Sheehan Associates $6,500 for “consultant-communications” in 2007  before a South Carolina primary debate that April, according to the Washington Examiner.

Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris bashed Biden during the second night of 2020 debates in June over Biden’s past positions on civil rights.