Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Wednesday blasted President Donald Trump for downplaying the threat of the coronavirus earlier this year, describing his behavior as “almost criminal”.
Biden’s criticism came after journalist Bob Woodward released recordings of interviews he held with Trump, for his forthcoming book “Rage,” in which the President acknowledged downplaying the threat of the coronavirus.
Biden called Trump’s comments to Woodward, compared to his public downplaying of the virus’s threat earlier this year, “disgusting,” in an interview with CNN, adding, “I truly don't get it.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump acknowledged that he downplayed the novel coronavirus earlier this year and explained that he wanted to "reduce panic".
"If you said in order to reduce panic, perhaps that's so," Trump said when asked if he downplayed the virus or misled the public to avoid panic, according to The Hill.
"The fact is I'm a cheerleader for this country. I love our country," Trump continued. "I don't want people to be frightened. I don't want to create panic, as you say, and certainly I'm not going to drive this country or the world into a frenzy."
"We want to show confidence. We want to show strength. We want to show strength as a nation," he added.