Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden gave his reaction to President Donald Trump's Covid-19 diagnosis.
According to Biden, Trump is responsible for contracting the coronavirus as a result of his refusal to wear a mask when he faces people.
“Look, anybody who contracts the virus by essentially saying, ‘masks don’t matter; social distancing doesn’t matter’ — I think is responsible for what happens to them,” Biden said during an NBC News town hall.
The town hall, hosted by Lester Holt in Miami, was held in front of a socially distanced audience. Biden stressed that if those present did not wear masks and formed a crowd, they too would be responsible for what happened.
“They’re taking responsibility that, in fact, they should be held responsible for, because every major scientist and doctor and immunologist has said that’s a very dangerous thing to do,” Biden explained. “The particles and droplets can stay in the air for a long time, longer than they thought.”
Biden’s statements came after Trump returned to the White House three days after being treated at the Walter Reed military hospital. His wife, Melania Trump, also tested positive for the coronavirus.
Biden, who is Trump's rival in the upcoming presidential election, previously wished the fast recovery of the president and the first lady.
The former vice president and his wife tested negative for the coronavirus.
“I’d like to start by acknowledging [and] sending my prayers for the health and safety of the first lady and president of the United States,” said Biden at an event held by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. “My wife Jill and I pray that they’ll make a quick and full recovery.”
“This is not a matter of politics,” Biden stressed. “It’s a bracing reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously.”
“We wanted to make sure that we’re doing everything by the numbers, so I got two, two COVID tests this morning. One in Delaware and one by the former White House doc who came up. And everything is clear, we wanted to make sure everything was clear before I came,” Biden emphasized in his remarks.
Mask wearing
In August, Trump slammed Biden for proposing a national mask mandate as an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Trump accused Biden of politicizing the Covid-19 outbreak and of neglecting science in fighting the health crisis.
“It’s a shameful situation for anybody to try and score political points while we’re working to save lives and defeat the pandemic,” Trump said during a White House press briefing.
Biden, the Democratic candidate for president, said that Americans must wear a mask when they are in public for the next three months. He urged governors to make mask wearing a mandate.
Trump, who eschewed wearing of masks for months, now supports the idea, although he wants governors to decide on whether to make them a requirement at the state level.
“We have urged Americans to wear masks. We’ve been saying wear them when it’s appropriate,” Trump said. “Maybe they’re great and maybe they’re just good, maybe they’re not so good. But frankly what do you have to lose? You have nothing to lose."
