Presumed Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden launched a preemptive strike Thursday against President Trump before the commander in chief’s visit to the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Biden said that Mr. Trump’s words and actions are deepening the nation’s political divide and providing voters with a “false” choice when it comes to the nation’s coronavirus response.
“At a time when we should be uniting our country, President Trump is trying to split Pennsylvanians into dueling camps, casting Democrats as doomsayers hoping to keep America grounded and Republicans as freedom fighters trying to liberate the economy,” Mr. Biden said. “This is a false choice, and it’s just his latest tactic in his mission of dividing Americans,” he said.
Mr. Trump’s trek to Pennsylvania will put him smack in the middle of an ongoing battle over Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay at home directive.
More than 1.7 million Keystone Staters have filed for unemployment since Mr. Wolkf, a Democrat, ordered non-essential businesses closed on March 16.
Mr. Trump, meanwhile, has been pushing for the nation to reopen in hopes of jumpstarting the economy.
Mr. Biden and others are cautioning against moving too fast, saying the economy will not come roaring back as long as people are still concerned about getting COVID-19.
Mr. Biden said Mr. Trump has failed to provide enough testing and to provide “guidance for workplace safety.”
“The issue isn’t whether or not to reopen. We all want to reopen. It’s how to reopen safely and effectively,” Mr. Biden said. “And the Trump Administration simply hasn’t done the work to make that happen — except to take care of themselves at the White House.”
