Biden blasts Barr's claim coronavirus lockdowns are biggest violation of civil liberties 'other than slavery'

Joe Biden.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden slammed Attorney General William Barr's recent assertion that coronavirus lockdowns and stay-at-home orders are "the greatest intrusion on civil liberties" in U.S. history "other than slavery."

This was an "outrageous" thing to say, Biden declared during CNN's Presidential Town Hall on Thursday night. "I will tell you what takes away your freedom — not being able to see your kid, not being able to go to the football game or baseball game, not being able to see your mom or dad sick in the hospital, not being able to do the things, that's what is costing us our freedom. And it's been the failure of this president to deal with this virus."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.