Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is clarifying his stance on whether he would implement another shutdown to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
During a previous interview with ABC News, Biden said he would be willing to implement another economic shutdown.
Biden was asked about his remarks on Wednesday, he responded, “The idea that you’re going to be able to get the economy back on track without getting Covid under control is completely counter-intuitive.” (starting at 31:59)
He continued to argue that without “drastically” reducing the impact on Americans’ confidence in going to work, “It doesn’t matter a lot.”
“There is going to be no need, in my view, to be able to shut down the whole economy. I got asked by David Muir a question — if I was asked to shut everything down. I took that as the generic question ‘Am I going to follow the science?'” Biden added.
He went on to say that he would “insist” that every American wear a mask and practice social distancing when they are in public.
Additionally, Biden took a shot at Americans who “talk about ‘my freedom.'”
“When I find these folks talking about ‘my freedom,’ I talk about patriotism. Why do you wear a mask? To protect your neighbor. To keep someone else from getting sick and maybe dying,” he said.
Biden continued, “I call that patriotic. This is the United States of America. Every generation’s made sacrifices to help others in moments of crisis.”
Watch Biden’s remarks below (starting at 32:06):
In his first joint-interview with his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Biden was asked by ABC News’ David Muir if he would implement another shutdown, as IJR reported.
“I would be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives,” Biden responded.
He continued, “Because we cannot get the country moving until we control the virus. 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.”
EXCLUSIVE: @DavidMuir and @RobinRoberts interview Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in an @ABC News Exclusive, pressing the Democratic ticket on the COVID-19 response, Pres. Trump's attacks and the fight against systemic racism. https://t.co/RVzd6LXLDl pic.twitter.com/Kegdir0dSL
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) August 22, 2020
When pressed specifically on whether he was saying that he would shut down the economy, Biden said, “I would shut it down, I would listen to the scientists.”
President Donald Trump has attacked Biden for his “very dangerous statement,” as IJR reported.
During an interview on Fox News that aired on Monday, Trump said, “Look, we did the right thing. We shut it down, and now we’ve built it up, and we’re setting records and job numbers.”
He added, “So this guy comes in, I heard him the other day, ‘If they said,’ so that means that if some doctor said we have to shut it down, we’re going to shut it down?”
