Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Biden Accuses Trump Of Waving "White Flag Of Defeat" Over Pandemic

Biden Accuses Trump Of Waving "White Flag Of Defeat" Over Pandemic

"It was a candid acknowledgement of what President Trump's strategy has clearly been from the beginning of this crisis: to wave the white flag of defeat and hope that by ignoring it, the virus would simply go away. It hasn't, and it won't," Joe Biden said in a statement.

US presidential challenger Joe Biden on Sunday accused Donald Trump of giving up in the fight against Covid-19 as the president faced a new outbreak in his team, surging infections nationwide and an uncomfortable admission by his chief of staff.

Nine days before the vote -- and with reported US coronavirus deaths having surpassed the grim total of 225,000 -- Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows conceded Sunday that "we are not going to control the pandemic, which he said could only be done through "vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas."

Control was not practical, he said, because "it is a contagious virus just like the flu."

Biden immediately seized on Meadows' comment as he again hammered the administration over the virus, which has set records for new cases in recent days, with nearly 90,000 on Saturday.

"It was a candid acknowledgement of what President Trump's strategy has clearly been from the beginning of this crisis: to wave the white flag of defeat and hope that by ignoring it, the virus would simply go away," the former vice president said in a statement.

"It hasn't, and it won't."


Trump on Sunday was continuing a furious pace of campaigning for a second term in the White House, with stops in New Hampshire and Maine.

His repeated efforts to downplay the severity of the pandemic or shift voters' attention elsewhere has been met with the constant drip of bad news about the virus.

The latest example was Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff Marc Short, and reportedly several of his aides, testing positive for Covid, swelling the list of administration staff to have caught the virus.

'Greatest failure'


Campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said Sunday that Pence would continue, with doctors' approval, to criss-cross the country in the waning days of the campaign. Both Pence and his wife had tested negative, he said.

"The folks on his staff are in quarantine, and he relies on the very sound medical advice of the White House medical unit," Murtaugh told Fox News.

The decision by Pence, who heads the White House coronavirus task force, to ignore standing advice from health experts to quarantine himself drew fire from Biden running mate Kamala Harris, who also criticized Meadows for likening the coronavirus to the flu.

"This is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of America," she said.

On Sunday, Trump sought once again to brush aside the crush of bad Covid news, telling supporters in New Hampshire.

"We are coming around, we are rounding the turn, we have the vaccines, we have everything, we are rounding the turn. Even without the vaccines, we are rounding the turn."

No vaccines have yet been approved for the virus, and health experts are warning of thousands more deaths in the months ahead.

Trump and his aides have repeatedly attacked Biden's energy levels and what they say is his thin record of accomplishments.

Murtaugh slammed Biden for his light campaign schedule, saying the Democratic challenger was "feeling the heat" and "took five out of six days off" before the last presidential debate on Thursday.

The remarks drew a contrast to the frenetic pace that Trump, 74, has maintained, while Biden has set a more cautious course, speaking less frequently and to smaller, socially distanced groups.

Biden, 77, planned on Sunday only to take part in a virtual concert, his campaign said.

But his deputy campaign manager vigorously defended him, telling NBC's "Meet the Press," that "we are campaigning incredibly hard."

"The difference between what we're doing and what Donald Trump is doing," said Kate Bedingfield, is that "we're doing it safely."

Ahead of the November 3 election -- and with more than 57 million Americans having cast early votes -- both campaigns are scrambling to make their closing arguments.

On Saturday, an energized Biden and former president Barack Obama accused Trump of massively mishandling the pandemic.

"Donald Trump isn't suddenly going to protect all of us. He can't even take the basic steps to protect himself," Obama said, referring to Trump's hospitalization for Covid-19 three weeks ago.

But the president has continued to project confidence.

Insisting he will be the better steward of the nation's economy, he told supporters in North Carolina, "This election is a choice between a Trump super-recovery and a Biden depression."

Grim polls for Trump


"Covid, covid, covid," Trump said on Saturday, complaining that the media was fixated on the problem.

Biden's response: Trump himself should be more fixated on the problem.

"Donald Trump said, and is still saying, 'It's going away. We're learning how to live with it,'" Biden said Saturday in his native Pennsylvania, a critical swing state.

"We're not learning how to live with it. You're asking us to learn how to die with it."

Biden has maintained a stable lead of around 10 points in national polls, and narrower leads in battleground states.
But both Republicans and Democrats are wary of polling after the stunning upset Trump pulled off in 2016 when he defeated Hillary Clinton.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
×