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After President Trump claimed in an interview with Fox Business Network that his political critics are pushing a slower reopening of the economy to hurt him politically in November’s election, former Vice President Joe Biden countered that “we all want to reopen” — but “safely and effectively.”
Asked if he thinks his political opponents want him to keep the economy closed due to the coronavirus pandemic as the presidential election nears, Trump told Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo: “Yeah, I do. I do. I think it’s a political thing.”
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“The people that want to see the right thing happen, they agree with me. We have to get our country open,” the president stressed.
And Trump charged that, “if it was up to some people, let’s keep it closed for a long time … and watch the United States go down the tubes. Not gonna happen. Never gonna happen on my watch.”
But Biden – the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee – said in a statement Thursday morning that “the issue isn’t whether or not to reopen. We all want to reopen. It’s how to reopen safely and effectively. And the Trump administration simply hasn’t done the work to make that happen.”
Biden issued his statement hours before the president was scheduled to head to the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania. Trump will tour the Owens & Minor medical equipment factory in Allentown, where he’s expected to stress rebuilding the nation’s stockpile of medical personal protective equipment like masks, gloves and surgical gowns, which the nearly century-and-a-half old Pennsylvania company distributes.
But the trip also comes four days after the president charged that it was because of “political purposes” that Democratic governors are “moving slowly” in loosening restrictions and reopening businesses shuttered by the coronavirus pandemic.
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“The great people of Pennsylvania want their freedom now, and they are fully aware of what that entails. The Democrats are moving slowly, all over the USA, for political purposes. They would wait until November 3rd if it were up to them. Don’t play politics. Be safe, move quickly!” Trump tweeted on Monday.
That tweet encouraged local protesters and some state Republicans who are threatening to defy Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s plans for a phased reopening of the state’s economy. It’s the latest spat between the GOP incumbent in the White House and a Democratic governor.
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Biden, who’s a Pennsylvania native, took aim at Trump, argued that “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.”
“This is a false choice, and it’s just his latest tactic in his mission of dividing Americans,” the former vice president said.
Pennsylvania’s one of three so-called ‘Rust Belt’ states – along with Michigan and Wisconsin – that Trump narrowly flipped from blue to red in the 2016 presidential election, helping him win the White House.
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A Fox News Poll conducted in Pennsylvania in the middle of last month indicated Biden holding an 8-point lead over Trump in a general election matchup.
It’s the second week in a row that Trump’s paid a visit to a key general election swing state, after a trip last week to Arizona.
Fox News’ Tyler Olson and Allie Raffa contributed to this report
