Former Vice President Joe Biden currently holds the leading position in the 2020 Democratic primary and in a speech on Thursday, former President Barack Obama’s veep outlined how his campaign would address the coronavirus sweeping the nation.
Flanked by American flags and speaking from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, Biden said, “We need a plan about how we’re going to aggressively manage here at home … the American people have the capacity to meet this moment.”
He added, “We’re gonna face this with the same spirit that has guided us through previous crises and we’ll come together as a nation, we’ll look out for one another and do our part as citizens.”
Moments later, Biden slammed the Trump administration’s handling of the virus.
“Protecting the health and safety of the American people is the most important job of any president and unfortunately, this virus laid bare the severe shortcoming of the current administration. Public fears are being compounded by pervasive lack of trust in this president; fueled by an adversarial relationship with the truth that he continues to have.”
He also released a plan to combat the virus, saying “I offer it as a roadmap, not for what I will do as president ten months from now but for the leadership that I believe is needed and required at this very moment.”
“President Trump is welcome to adopt all of it today,” he added.
I'm about to address the nation on how we should confront the corona virus pandemic. Tune in to watch live: https://t.co/OdaeTNw40B
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) March 12, 2020
While Trump has sought to blame the coronavirus on his political rivals, seemingly blaming the Obama administration for sluggish testing, Biden said, “Let me be crystal clear, the coronavirus does not have a political affiliation, it will affect Republicans, Independents and Democrats alike.”
"The coronavirus does not have a political affiliation. It will affect Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike" – @JoeBiden pic.twitter.com/UtiLeFIdeL
— Pod Save America (@PodSaveAmerica) March 12, 2020
Biden is currently leading in the Democratic primary after favorable showings in battleground states like Michigan. However, the coronavirus is complicating the primary season and the DNC has moved what was supposed to be an open debate in Arizona to a closed event in DC.
