President Biden devoted his first prime-time address to the pandemic that helped put him in the White House, vowing to follow the science and reassuring voters they can follow him. His address about the pandemic he now owns was all at once grim and somber but also optimistic — and peppered with warnings.
“Look, we know what we need to do to beat this virus,” Biden said. “Tell the truth. Follow the science and the scientists. Work together. Put trust and faith in our government to fulfill its most important function, which is protecting the American people.”
The remarks come on the anniversary of the country beginning to shut down in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. "A year ago, we were hit with a virus that was met with silence and spread unchecked. Denials for days, weeks, then months. That led to more deaths," he said Thursday from the East Room of the White House.
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It was an unmistakable shot at his predecessor, former President Donald Trump. Biden sought to present himself as empathetic and somber, a contrast to what some consider the previous president’s happy talk as infections spread and the death toll, now approaching 530,000 in the United States, climbed.
These traits helped Biden win last November. According to the exit polls, voters preferred Biden to handle the pandemic by 10 percentage points, 53% to 43%. The electorate was similarly split, with 52% saying it was more important to contain the coronavirus now even if it hurt the economy, of which 79% voted for Biden, to the 42% who wanted to rebuild the economy immediately. Trump carried 78% of the latter group.
The virus also interrupted the economic boom and low unemployment that were central to Trump’s case for a second term. The economy remained one of Trump’s bigger advantages over Biden in the polls.
Since taking office, Biden has embraced Anthony Fauci, the top federal infectious disease official who sometimes clashed with Trump. He has emphasized the importance of getting people vaccinated, saying Thursday night he expected states to make all adults eligible by May 1. The Democratic stalwart has urged voters to be confident in government action.
The remarks come after Biden signed into law the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package, which passed without a single Republican vote in either house of Congress. He has continued to criticize the Trump administration’s response to the virus, from the pace of vaccinations to the former president's rhetoric about its Chinese origins.
But Biden now must take responsibility for turning the corner against the deadly outbreak. He exhorted the public to continue social distancing and not to do anything that could cause another period of painful economic shutdowns.
“Please, we don’t want to do that again, we’ve made so much progress,” he said. “This is not the time to let up.” Biden nevertheless warned, “We may have to reinstate restrictions” if medical guidance is not followed.
Biden has drawn upon his experience with personal loss — losing a wife and daughter in a car accident, then a son decades later to brain cancer — to talk about the deadly pandemic. His 24-minute speech Thursday was no different.
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“We all lost something, a collective suffering, a collective sacrifice,” Biden said. He announced he would deploy 4,000 more military troops in support of vaccination efforts. There are already 2,000 working toward this goal.
Biden sought to project optimism at the same time he recognized the grim milestone and issued stern warnings. After months of predictions of normalcy that did not come to pass, many issued from the presidential podium by his predecessor, he said, “There is hope and light of better days ahead if we all do our part.”
