President-elect Joe Biden is calling on President Trump to step up his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, emphasizing how the sitting president was responsible for the country’s poor handling of the outbreak.
“I am the president-elect, but I will not be president until next year. The crisis does not respect dates on the calendar, it is accelerating right now. Urgent action is needed today, now, by the current administration — starting with an acknowledgment of how serious the current situation is,” he said.
Biden, the two-term vice president, urged Trump to direct resources, such as protective gear, to front-line healthcare workers, as well as help hospitals set-up their surge capacity facilities. He also implored the incumbent to distribute testing kits, treatments, and therapeutics more widely.
Biden’s comments reflected advice he received from his coronavirus task force Friday as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths tick up around the country.
“This week’s news on progress toward a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine is positive, but it will be many months before there is widespread vaccination in this country,” he warned.
He added that it was still important to wash hands, wear masks, and physically distance.
“I understand it’s not easy. I know people are tired. But this will not go on forever,” he said.
Biden’s language echoed Franklin Roosevelt as the incoming president prepared for his administration amid the Great Depression but with Republican President Herbert Hoover still in the White House. Roosevelt distanced himself from Hoover’s policies before he took office, eventually rolling out his sweeping New Deal reforms.
Biden had promised to model his tenure on Roosevelt’s before last week’s election delivered him what’s likely to be an unfavorable Senate.
Biden traveled to Roosevelt’s Little White House in the closing days of his campaign for an address in Warm Springs, Georgia. He also told reporters he read The Defining Moment, a political history detailing Roosevelt’s first 100 days.
