"He wants to shut down this country. And I want to keep it open," President Trump said as he pointed to his debate opponent on Tuesday.
Trump said he and his task force have learned a lot over the past several months. What they've learned, is that while seniors are at risk, young children and young adults aren't vulnerable, and they should be permitted to live their lives without fear.
"More people will be hurt if you keep states closed," Trump said.
He accused Democratic governors of wanting to keep states shutdown "until after the election." And a President Joe Biden, he said, would do the same thing.
Joe wants to shut down this Country. I want to keep it OPEN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2020
If Biden had been in charge this year, Trump asserted, he would "never" have been able to handle the pandemic.
"You could never have done the job that we did," Trump said. "You don't have it in your blood. You could've never done that job."
He reminded Biden of his less than stellar response to H1N1. Biden's own coronavirus advisor Ron Klain admitted on tape that the Obama-Biden administration "did every possible thing wrong" when it came to Swine flu, including failing to refill the depleted national strategic stockpile.
ICYMI: President @realDonaldTrump to Joe Biden regarding his coronavirus response, "You could never have done the job that we did. You don't have it in your blood. You could've never done that job." pic.twitter.com/IIXIN1zBDI
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 30, 2020
But Biden insisted that Trump has been "totally irresponsible" as to how he's handled social distancing, and for "discouraging" Americans to wear masks.
"He's a fool on this," the former VP said.
Biden also criticized Trump for holding massive campaign rallies, questioning the safety of the events.
"If you could get the crowds, you'd do the same thing," Trump quickly retorted.
Experts, including White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci, have said that the Trump administration "acted very, very early" to combat the spread of the virus, including the decision in January to ban travel from China.
Two hundred thousand people is a tragedy, Trump noted. But he said that "2 million people would be dead now" had he not acted so soon.