Joseph R. Biden says President Trump’s refusal to sport a mask in response to the coronavirus is “stoking deaths” and amounts to fake masculinity.
Mr. Biden, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, told CNN Tuesday Mr. Trump is a “fool” for mocking him for wearing a mask and jeopardizing lives.
“It’s stoking deaths, that’s not going to increase the likelihood that people are going to be better off,” Mr. Biden said.
“Presidents are supposed to lead, not engage in folly and be falsely masculine,” he said. “It reminds me of the guys that I grew up with playing ball. They’d walk around with a ball in their hand, but they didn’t like to hit very much.”
Mr. Biden said more people have died from coronavirus because of Mr. Trump’s slow response.
“If he just started a week earlier would have saved thousands of lives,” Mr. Biden said. “This is a tragedy.”
He also apologized for his recent assertion that African Americans aren’t black if they support Mr. Trump, and turned the attempts to cast him as missing a step back on Mr. Trump.
“He’s missing something man,” Mr. Biden said. “This is a fellow who looks like he’s having trouble controlling his own emotions.”
The president said Tuesday he wasn’t poking fun at Mr. Biden for wearing a mask.
“Biden can wear a mask, but he was standing outside with his wife — perfect conditions, perfect weather,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “They’re inside, and they don’t wear masks. And so I thought it was very unusual that he had one on. But I thought that was fine. I wasn’t criticizing him at all. Why would I ever do anything like that?”
• Dave Boyer contributed to this report.
