U.S. presidential election | Donald Trump revels in division, chaos: Joe Biden

Joe Biden said the country is paying a heavy price for Preisdent Donald Trump’s policies on COVID-19

October 17, 2020 04:55 am | Updated 04:58 am IST - Macon

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice-President Joe Biden speaks at Beech Woods Recreation Center, in Southfield, Michigan October 16, 2020.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice-President Joe Biden speaks at Beech Woods Recreation Center, in Southfield, Michigan October 16, 2020.

U.S. President Donald Trump “revels” in division and chaos, and he will do anything to distract people from his failures to deal with the COVID-19 situation, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has alleged.

Speaking at a restricted election campaign event on October 16 at Southfield in Michigan, a battleground state, Mr. Biden said the country is paying a heavy price for Mr. Trump’s policies on COVID-19.

“Hate never goes away. It only hides. And if you give it oxygen, it grows. So we need to be clear: from the President on down in this country, there is no place for hate in America,” he said.

“President Trump revels in division and chaos. He will do anything to distract us from focusing on his failures to deal with this virus and protect this nation,” Mr. Biden said.

“He is still living in a dream world and “keeps telling us the virus is going to disappear like a miracle.” the presidential candidate said.

“But it’s [coronavirus] not disappearing. In fact, it’s on the rise again. It’s getting worse. We all know the terrible price this nation has paid. Lives are being lost. Unemployment is way up,” Mr. Biden said.

He said that across Michigan and the country, people are worried about making their next rent or mortgage payment, whether their health care will be ripped away in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, worried about school and their children.

More than 215,000 dead because of COVID-19 and experts say “we will lose nearly another 200,000 lives in the next few months”, he said.

This is “because he refuses to follow science. Because he refuses to embrace wearing a mask. Because he refuses to practice social distancing”, Mr. Biden said.

He alleged that as a consequence of Mr. Trump’s overwhelming lying, negligence, and irresponsible actions, there are empty chairs around dinner tables.

“But mishandling the pandemic isn’t enough for Trump. On top of that, he’s still trying to take away your health care,” Mr. Biden said.

Mr. Trump, he alleged, is still determined to destroy the Affordable Care Act. This isn’t hyperbole — this is real. As real as it gets, Mr. Biden said.

Reiterating that Mr. Trump will be the first President in modern U.S. history to leave office with fewer jobs than when he began, Mr. Biden said he has a plan to bring the economy back.

“An independent analysis put out by Moody’s, a well-respected Wall Street firm, projects that my plan will create 18.6 million jobs — over 7 million more jobs than the President’s economic plan, and $1 trillion more in economic growth than the President’s plan,” he said.

Mr. Biden assured that he is not going to raise taxes on anyone who makes less than $400,000 a year. “You won’t pay a penny more. But I’ll ask big corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share for a change,” he said.

“Of Trumps’ more than $2 trillion dollar tax cut, I’m going to roll back $1.5 trillion of his giveaways to the biggest companies and top 1%. The money we raise will allow us to invest in working people and growing the middle class, and make sure everyone is included in the deal,” he said.

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