Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden drew a rash of criticism over his declaration Sunday that he would defer to scientists on whether to lock down the economy to control the novel coronavirus.
Asked if he would shut down economic activity if recommended by scientists, Mr. Biden said in an ABC News interview, “I would shut it down. I would listen to the scientists,” a prescription that Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, described as “madness.”
” ‘I would shut it down,’ ” Mr. Cruz tweeted. “This is the Biden economic agenda. Destroy every small business in America. Kill tens of millions more jobs. This is madness.”
Other critics argued that scientists have been divided in their response to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and that the president’s role is to take into account a host of considerations, including the economy and the national interest, when deciding whether to order a shutdown.
Jenny Beth Martin, chairman of the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund, said that Mr. Biden “would rather send us into a long-term depression if it meant having to overrule the ‘experts’ and show real leadership.”
“Faceless bureaucrats with no accountability to the citizens of our country have no authority to make such decisions; empowering them to do so would be wrong on its face,” Ms. Martin said in a statement. “Worse, his statement indicates a mistaken belief that a president has the power and authority to shut down the country if he so desires.”
“I would shut it down.”
This is the Biden economic agenda. Destroy every small business in America. Kill tens of millions more jobs.
This is madness. https://t.co/Gwmj383VYD
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 24, 2020
Mr. Biden, appearing in a joint interview with Sen. Kamala D. Harris, the vice presidential nominee, also criticized President Trump’s response to the pandemic.
“I will be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives because we cannot get the country moving until we control the virus,” Mr. Biden said. “That is the fundamental flaw of this administration’s thinking to begin with. In order to keep the country running and moving and the economy growing, and people employed, you have to fix the virus, you have to deal with the virus.”
Asked, “So if the scientists say, shut it down?” Mr. Biden replied, “I would shut it down. I would listen to the scientists.”
The backlash was contagious. Trump 2020 campaign adviser Jason Miller tweeted, “Biden says he’d defer to scientists on Covid-19 lockdowns. That’s not a President’s job.”
Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, asked: “Would that include 446,030 Texans who tested positive but have since recovered?”
“Even Dr. [Anthony] Fauci is saying that the shutdowns shouldn’t continue in the same manner,” tweeted Dr. David Samadi. “Why does Joe Biden want to keep America closed indefinitely?”
In a Monday staff editorial, the Wall Street Journal said that the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee’s comments “misjudge the duty of a president.”
“Mr. Biden says he’d order another shutdown if scientists say it would save lives,” said the editorial. “But by that standard he’d have to keep the economy constrained for months and for many contagious diseases. He wants to blame Mr. Trump for unemployment but another lockdown would cost millions more jobs. A President has to consider the larger national interest, and that means listening to economists and health experts beyond epidemiologists.”
Others argued that what Mr. Biden meant is that he would “follow the advice of scientists,” as actress Mia Farrow tweeted.
Former Obama White House speechwriter Jon Favreau warned, “Get ready for a bunch of Trump hacks to spin a bunch of credulous reporters that Biden saying he’ll follow the advice of scientists and public health officials is a controversial position.”
