Comments then-candidate Joe Biden made during a debate with former President Trump in October 2020 are being revisited given that more than 341,000 Americans have died from Covid-19 since he took office.
Prior to the rollout of three vaccines to help combat the novel coronavirus, Biden pledged that as president he would “end this” pandemic.
“220,000 Americans dead,” he said during the Oct. 22 debate. “You hear nothing else I say tonight, hear this. Anyone who … is responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States of America.”
At the time, he placed his trust in masking and testing.
“What I would do, is make sure we have everyone encouraged to wear a mask all the time,” he said. “I would make sure we move into the direction of rapid testing, investing in rapid testing. I would make sure that we set up national standards as to how to open up schools and open up businesses so they can be safe and give them the wherewithal, the financial resources to be able to do that.”
He added: “And so, folks, I will take care of this. I will end this.”
No politician from either party should run on “ending” a virus that mutates over time, but that didn’t stop Biden. So as Insider & Issues points out, he should be held to his own standards.
That promise, more than anything else, got Biden into the White House.
Fast forward to today. Biden has been in office nearly 10 months, and how has he done at “ending this”?
Over those months, more than 21 million people have contracted COVID-19. More than 332,000 of them died from the disease. Recently Biden’s own (fully vaxxed) press secretary tested positive for COVID, as did an aide who’d been traveling abroad with the president.
What’s more, after declining over the past two months, COVID cases look poised for another spike in the winter.
All of these COVID cases and deaths happened even though Biden had put his entire “plan” into action. He got nearly $2 trillion in COVID-fighting funds approved in March. Mask use has been widespread. A record number of people are getting tested under Biden — more than 333.3 million since he took office. Plus, Biden had three vaccines available to him, none of which he was counting on when he promised to “end this.”
So it stands to reason that if Biden’s “plan” would have prevented the 220,000 deaths that had happened before the November 2020 election, it should have prevented the 341,000+ who’ve died since he got the keys to the White House. Right?
And if — as Biden kept insisting — Trump was responsible for 220,000 COVID deaths that had occurred by Oct. 22, 2020, doesn’t that make Biden responsible for the 341,000+ who’ve died from COVID on his watch? Doesn’t that also mean that Biden, by his own standard, “should not remain as president”? (Issues and Insights)
“Anyone who is responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States of America.” -@JoeBiden on President Trump’s response to the coronavirus crisis #Debatets2020 pic.twitter.com/2ruCjrCMvY
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 23, 2020