As President Joe Biden grapples with how to handle the latest and mild variant of Wuhan coronavirus, it's worth remembering his record as vice president during the 2009 Swine Flu pandemic.
According to former Obama advisor Ron Klain, who now serves as President Biden's White House chief of staff, the administration did "everything wrong."
Watching Joe Biden say in December 2021, "I wish I had thought about ordering a half a billion [test kits] two months ago" reminds me of now-White House COS Ron Klain's recap of how Biden and co handled of the 2009 swine flu pandemic: "We did every possible thing wrong..." https://t.co/h4S4ZEBPQp pic.twitter.com/nzubrfyKdf
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) December 23, 2021
During the 2020 presidential election, POLITICO ran a piece detailing all of the failures and Biden's habit of stoking panic.
“‘Listen, we need to be aggressive early on this,’” Biden announced, according to Brennan.
The next week, Biden made good on his pledge — and set off a deluge of criticism. In an interview on NBC’s “Today,” Biden said he wouldn’t advise his family to fly on planes or ride the subway.
“I wouldn’t go anywhere in confined places right now," Biden said. "It’s not that it’s going to Mexico, it’s that you are in a confined aircraft. When one person sneezes, it goes everywhere through the aircraft.”
Airlines angrily accused Biden of fearmongering. Media reports noted that Biden’s pessimism contrasted sharply with the reassurances President Barack Obama had given a day earlier, when he said there was no need to panic even as he declared a national health emergency. In a matter of hours, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Deputy Secretary of State Jack Lew were summoned to the White House and assigned to clean up the mess Biden made: “Nip it in the bud,” LaHood said, recalling their instructions.
Meanwhile, Biden's latest plans to send Americans testing kits through the mail is already falling apart, and officials continue to throw unconstitutional mandates at the wall with hopes that something will stick.
Biden repeatedly confused "test kits" & "pills" today when discussing shortages.
— Tommy Pigott (@TommyPigott) December 23, 2021
Biden: "500 million pills, I mean excuse me, 500 million test kits...I wish I had thought about ordering a half a billion pills two months ago"(again, he means test kits)pic.twitter.com/zFIr0cidFi
Joe Biden: “There may be a need for" a fourth shot of the vaccine, a second booster. pic.twitter.com/psoi1AMcEm
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) December 23, 2021
Pres. Biden to @DavidMuir on requiring vaccines for domestic flights: "It's been considered but the recommendation I've gotten, it's not necessary." https://t.co/wPSI5qxLgu pic.twitter.com/RtEmSzBMoV
— ABC News (@ABC) December 23, 2021
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