Joe Biden started to ramp up his criticisms of the president after softening his campaign tone toward President Trump over the weekend while the commander in chief was hospitalized with the coronavirus.
The Democratic presidential nominee and former vice president paused negative campaign ads that went after Trump after the president revealed that he had the coronavirus and was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. And at a campaign stop in Miami on Monday, Biden reiterated that he is praying for the president and first lady, Melania Trump.
But Trump announced that he will return to the White House on Monday evening, and Biden pointed to the president sending more than a dozen tweets Monday morning about his campaign platform and urged supporters to vote as a reason to reintroduce jabs.
“I was glad to see the president speaking, recording videos over the weekend. Now that he’s busy tweeting campaign messages, I would ask him to do this: Listen to the scientists,” Biden said.
He urged the president to support nationwide mask mandates — a now-signature part of Biden’s campaign platform, the specifics of which he has been murky on. Biden once said he was not sure if he had the constitutional authority to do it before later saying that there are probably ways that a president could mandate mask usage across the nation.
“Support masks. Support a mandates nationwide require mask and every federal building facility and interstate travel. Urge every governor to the same. We know it saves lives,” Biden said.
Since Trump was hospitalized on Friday, Biden said, more than 100,000 people had been diagnosed with the coronavirus.
“This week, at least 5,000 more will die,” Biden said. “I hope the president’s recovery is swift and successful, but our nation’s COVID crisis is far, far from over.”
Biden also flaunted an analysis from financial intelligence firm Moody’s that found Biden’s economic plans would create 7 million more jobs than Trump’s plans.
“The president talks about a lot of talking about Wall Street,” Biden said, but “he never talks about” the analysis that favored Biden.
He also referenced a 2019 report that said the president suggested using nuclear weapons to thwart severe hurricanes headed for the United States.
“No matter what the president says, maybe you should consider: Dropping an atomic weapon on a hurricane coming our way is not a good idea. It doesn’t work,” Biden said.
Biden faulted Trump for not doing more to combat climate change.
“What does he have to do to get knocked in the head to understand it?” Biden said.
In one of his last blows, Biden took aim at Trump’s relationship with the Russian president.
“The bottom line is that President Trump cannot advance from — democracy and human rights to the American people when he has embraced so many autocrats around the world, starting with Vladimir Putin,” Biden said.
