Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden says a new report that President Trump knowingly misled the nation about the threat of the coronavirus is “despicable” and a “dereliction of duty.”
Responding to excerpts from journalist Bob Woodward’s new book “Rage,” Mr. Biden said that Mr. Trump “admitted on tape” in February that he knew COVID-19 passed through the air and that it was much more deadly than the flu, but “purposely played it down.”
“Worse, he lied to the American people. He knowingly and willingly lied about the threat it posed to the country for months,” Mr. Biden said during a campaign stop Wednesday in Michigan.
“He had the information,” he said. “He knew how dangerous it was, and while this deadly disease ripped through this nation he failed to do his job on purpose.”
Mr. Biden said, “It was a life and death betrayal of the American people.”
Mr. Trump reportedly told Mr. Woodward on Feb. 7 the coronavirus “is deadly stuff,” and revealed in interviews the virus could be five times more deadly than the flu.
“I wanted to always play it down,” Mr. Trump told Woodward on March 19. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”
Mr. Biden said the decision cost tens of thousands of lives.
“His failure has not only cost lives, it sent our economy into a tailspin and costs millions more in American livelihood,” Mr. Biden said. “It is beyond despicable. It is a dereliction of duty. It is a disgrace.”
