Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden charged President Trump with ignoring the COVID-19 pandemic in order to get back to his large campaign rallies.
“Donald Trump’s failure to fight the coronavirus with the same energy he uses to troll his enemies on Twitter has cost us lives,” Mr. Biden said in a speech Wednesday, taking shots at the president’s “bungled” COVID-19 handling.
The former vice president said cases are still rising in 21 states, and experts have said contact tracings are needed to prevent the spread. But Mr. Trump has decided to scale back the coronavirus task force meetings.
Mr. Biden pushed back against the notion that Mr. Trump is a “wartime” president, fighting an invisible enemy.
“Unlike any other wartime leader, he takes no responsibility. He expresses no leadership. Now he is just flat surrendering the fight,” Mr. Biden said. “Instead of leading the charge to defeat the virus, he just basically waved a white flag and retreated.”
Mr. Trump is planning to return to the campaign trail, planning a large rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, later this month. Those attending the rally will reportedly have to sign a release not to sue the campaign if they contract COVID-19.
