[US Presidential Debate] Biden Attacks "Failed COVID Regime"... Trump Blames China

Biden "Come off the golf course and work across the aisle on measures"
Trump "Vaccine will come soon and solve everything... All China's fault"
US cumulative deaths exceed 210,000... Daily cases remain at 40,000

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] In the first TV debate between the U.S. presidential candidates, former Vice President Joe Biden of the Democratic Party relentlessly attacked the Trump administration's failure to respond to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). In response, President Donald Trump blamed China for the COVID-19 crisis and consistently praised his and his administration's response as excellent.

According to foreign media such as CNN, on the 29th (local time), at the first U.S. presidential candidate TV debate held ahead of the November U.S. election, former Vice President Biden and President Trump fiercely clashed over responsibility for COVID-19. Biden said, "Trump knew the seriousness of COVID-19 but had no plan. He probably doesn't even know what he's saying now," and harshly criticized, "Despite knowing the severity of the situation, he failed to establish a proper response and held campaign rallies without wearing masks, which is a criminal act."

Biden emphasized, "More than 200,000 people have died in the U.S., and still over 40,000 Americans are infected daily," adding, "President Trump should stop going to the golf courses he visits every Friday, and Democrats and Republicans must come together to work bipartisanly to save lives."

Despite this fierce attack, President Trump countered, "COVID-19 is a situation caused by China and should never have happened," and said, "My administration has successfully responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and has done an amazing job." He further emphasized, "Protective equipment such as masks and ventilators have been sufficiently distributed to each region." President Trump cited COVID-19 cases in China, Russia, India, and others, repeatedly asserting, "There was no problem with the U.S. response."

President Trump mentioned Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who has opposed him on quarantine issues, saying, "Dr. Fauci said I saved thousands of lives." He added, "Do not believe fake news that distorts my statements about the virus." He consistently claimed, "The U.S. will soon have a vaccine," insisting that the COVID-19 situation could soon be resolved. President Trump counterattacked by saying that former Vice President Biden would impose strong lockdown measures that would push the U.S. economy into crisis. He emphasized, "Biden wants to shut down the entire country, and this will destroy the national economy."

However, President Trump's remarks merely repeated previous statements, and it was expected that if former Vice President Biden continued to focus on COVID-19, it would significantly impact weakening Trump's approval ratings. CNN reported, "The Biden campaign believes COVID-19 is the reason Biden's approval ratings have steadily held during the election period, and COVID-19 will be a key focus of the Biden campaign's attack strategy going forward."

COVID-19, which is delivering a fatal blow to President Trump's approval ratings, continues to rage in the U.S. According to the global statistics site Worldometer, as of this day, the cumulative confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. reached 7,406,146, with a total of 210,785 deaths. The daily confirmed cases recorded 44,227, still maintaining over 40,000 cases per day.