Biden calls Trump's coronavirus response 'a life and death betrayal of the American people' following Woodward revelations

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 9 September 2020

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, responded Wednesday to revelations about President Trump's reaction to the coronavirus pandemic found in Bob Woodward's forthcoming book, Rage.

Trump reportedly told Woodward back in February that he knew the coronavirus was airborne and deadlier than the flu, but chose to play down the threat so that he didn't cause a panic in the United States. While on the campaign trail in Michigan, Biden said that shows the president "knowingly and willingly lied" to the country, and he argued that as the virus "ripped through our nation" Trump "failed to do his job on purpose," amounting to a "life and death betrayal of the American people."

Trump also answered some questions about the Woodward book, though he mostly reiterated that he didn't want to drive people into a frenzy and touted the job his administration has done to combat the virus. Tim O'Donnell

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.