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

(Image credit: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

published 18 September 2020

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."

President Trump knew how deadly and contagious the coronavirus was "in clear terms" at the beginning of the year, Biden said, and he had the perfect opportunity to talk to the country about how to stay safe during his State of the Union address in early February. "Imagine if he had said something," Biden said. "How many more people would be alive?" Biden also pointed out that in late January, he wrote an op-ed about "the possibility of a pandemic," which called Trump "the worst possible leader to deal with [a] coronavirus outbreak."

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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.

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