At a press conference, Sen. Kamala Harris blasted President Donald Trump for failing to protect the country due to his handling of the pandemic because he has “a reckless disregard for the well-being of the American people.”
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The Democratic vice-presidential nominee spoke from Washington, D.C. ahead of Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday evening. She criticized how he reacted when the coronavirus first began to take a foothold in the nation earlier this year.
“Donald Trump froze. He was scared. And he was petty and vindictive,” Harris said.
She also framed the president as being “fixated on the stock market” and that he “caved” to the government in China.
“Donald Trump stood idly by and, folks, it was a deadly decision,” Harris said.
“All we needed was a competent president. One who was willing to listen, willing to lead, take responsibility, have a plan, do their job.”
She added, “Donald Trump has failed at the most basic and important job of a president of the United States,” Harris said. “It’s his obligation to protect us. Yet, he has failed miserably.”
Harris said that the president did not appreciate the gravity of COVID-19. To date, there have been almost 6 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 180,380 Americans have died.
“And here’s what you have to understand about the nature of a pandemic: It’s relentless. You can’t stop it with a tweet. You can’t create a distraction and hope it’ll go away. It doesn’t go away,” she said.
She continued her critique, labeling Trump as “incompetent” and that he had damaged the economy because of his inaction.
“For the devastation it would do to our economy, for the damage it would do to communities of color who have been subjected to structural racism for generations. For the chaos that would upend our daily lives, make it impossible for many of our children to go to school, make it impossible to live normally and with a sense of certainty,” she said.
She continued, “Trump’s incompetence is nothing new … but in January of this year it became deadly.”
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Joe Biden and his campaign made the decision to preemptively blunt the impact of Trump’s speech which included flooding the airwaves with ads. One highlights the biography of the Democratic presidential nominee and America’s resiliency.
“America is an idea, an idea stronger than any army more powerful than any dictator or tyrant,” Biden says in the ad. “And it’s an idea as alive and powerful today as it was when it was first proposed.”
Harris further countered Trump’s keynote address with the claim that the RNC was only happening for the benefit of the president rather than those who are struggling.
“The Republican convention is designed for one purpose: To soothe Donald Trump’s ego, to make him feel good,” Harris said. “But here’s the thing: He’s the President of the United States, and it’s not supposed to be about him. It’s supposed to be about the health and the safety and the well-being of the American people.”
“And on that measure,” she added, “Donald Trump has failed.”
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