Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden responded to a series of bombshell revelations about President Trump on Wednesday, saying that audiotapes recorded by veteran journalist Bob Woodward showed Trump โfailed to do his job on purpose.โ
โHe knew and purposely played it down. Worse, he lied to the American people,โ said an animated Biden during a speech in Michigan. โHe knew how dangerous it was. He failed to do his job on purpose.
โIt was a life-and-death betrayal of the American people,โ added Biden.
In interviews recorded earlier this year, Trump told Woodward that he purposely downplayed the severity of the coronavirus in order to avoid causing a โpanic.โ
โTo be honest with you, I wanted to always play it down,โ Trump told Woodward on March 19. โI still like playing it down, because I donโt want to create a panic.โ
And while Trump would publicly insist that he was unconcerned with the virus until mid-March, he told Woodward on Feb. 7 that it was โdeadly stuffโ โ far worse than a typical flu โ and that it could easily infect people.
โYou just breathe the air and thatโs how itโs passed,โ Trump said.
Woodwardโs upcoming book, โRage,โ is set to reveal the presidentโs views on foreign policy, race and other major issues that have arisen over the past two years, according to the Washington Post. The Post story included the audio recordings of Woodwardโs interviews with Trump.
Biden said that Trumpโs actions as detailed by Woodward are โbeyond despicable. Itโs a dereliction of duty. Itโs a disgrace.โ
Although the president still gets relatively high marks on his handling of the economy, polls indicate that most Americans think Trump bungled the U.S. response to COVID-19.
Woodward and Trump also discussed racial issues, and while the president told Woodward he thinks there is institutional racism in the United States, he complained that heโs not getting sufficient support from Black voters.
โIโve done a tremendous amount for the Black community,โ Trump told Woodward. โAnd, honestly, Iโm not feeling any love.โ
Biden has ratcheted up his in-person campaigning in recent weeks. Wednesday marked the first time heโs visited Michigan since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
Michigan is one of several critical swing states that Trump narrowly and surprisingly won in 2016. Recent polls show Biden leading the president there. Trump is scheduled to visit Michigan on Thursday.
Bidenโs campaign is eager to snag the stateโs 16 electoral votes, leaning heavily into his blue-collar, pro-union image while arguing that he is the candidate best suited to revitalize the nationโs struggling manufacturing sector. Biden, saying he would be the most โunion-friendlyโ president in American history, outlined some of his plans to expand and protect U.S. manufacturing in his Wednesday afternoon remarks โ and painted Trumpโs promises to the state in 2016 as โa bunch of hot air.โ
โUnder Donald Trump, Michigan lost auto jobs even before COVID hit. And what about offshoring? Has Trump delivered on stopping companies from shipping American jobs overseas? You already know the answer to that. Of course not,โ said Bide
