Presidential candidates respond to COVID-19
COVID-19 has infected over 160,000 people in the U.S., becoming a primary issue in the race for the presidency. With just over seven months remaining until Election Day, the three main candidates for the presidency have varied in their responses to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Bernie Sanders
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders addressed the COVID-19 outbreak in a March 12 press conference. He then went on to address the pandemic in a second press conference the next day, a “fireside chat” on March 14, a digital rally on March 16 and in several virtual roundtables since.
Sanders has made a point throughout the COVID-19 outbreak to double down on his proposal for Medicare for All. Sanders’ call for granting workers paid sick leave is central to his response, especially during widespread health crises.
As a member of the Senate, Sanders took part in the unanimous Senate vote last week to pass a $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill.
Sanders stated he was willing to stall the bill’s passage due to a proposed amendment by Senate Republicans that would have capped unemployment benefits at a worker’s full salary. The amendment failed to pass in a 48-48 vote.
Sanders delivered a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday where he criticized the Trump administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, calling for Americans to take the outbreak as an opportunity to reflect on healthcare in the U.S.
“This crisis should be a moment in which people ask fundamental questions about the dysfunctionality of our current healthcare system and have the guts to finally say to the healthcare industry, the drug companies, insurance companies and others that the function of a rational health care system is to provide quality care to all, not to make billions in profits for people who own the industry,” Sanders said.
Sanders also notably dissented with the $2 trillion relief bill’s $1,200 direct payment to each adult American. Instead he called for “emergency $2,000 cash payments to every person in America every month for the duration of the crisis.”
Further information on Sanders’ COVID-19 response can be found on his campaign website.
Joe Biden
Former Vice President Joe Biden delivered a brief speech on March 17, thanking voters for his victories in the Florida and Illinois primaries.
Biden held a call with the press on March 20 regarding COVID-19 before hosting a livestream from his home on March 23.
Like Sanders, Biden has also criticized the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic, vowing to heed the advice of experts if elected to the Oval Office.
Biden has emphasized student loan forgiveness and emergency sick leave amid the pandemic. He joined Sanders in calling for free COVID-19 treatments and ensuring any future COVID-19 vaccines would be free for Americans.
In a CNN town hall livestream on Friday, Biden criticized President Donald Trump, referencing the president’s statement that he would “love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter.”
“It’s a false choice to make, saying that you either open the economy or everything goes to hell. You cannot make this economy grow until you deal with the virus,” Biden said.
In contrast to Sanders’ plans to implement Medicare for All, Biden has proposed the federal government provide matching dollars for states to “expedite enrollment for individuals who are eligible for Medicaid but not yet enrolled.”
Further information on Biden’s COVID-19 response can be found on his campaign website.
Donald Trump
Trump’s response to COVID-19 is fundamentally different from his 2020 rivals due to his incumbent status as the current U.S. president.
Trump has recently faced criticism from experts and political rivals for his 2018 decision to disband the Global Health Security and Biodefense unit, a part of the National Security Council responsible for pandemic preparedness. Some members of the unit, however, were reassigned to other roles involving pandemic response.
On Jan. 29, Trump established the White House Coronavirus Task Force, headed by Vice President Mike Pence.
Two days later on Jan. 31, the Trump administration declared a public health emergency amid the outbreak, placing restrictions on travel to and from China.
Trump has since ramped up travel restrictions, suspending foreign nationals’ entry to the U.S. from Iran, the 26 countries that comprise the Schengen Area, a majority of mainland Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Trump has stated his belief that the virus poses a limited threat to the U.S., such as during his trip to New Delhi, India, where Trump expressed confidence on Feb. 25 that the virus’s impact on the U.S. would be short-lived.
“It looks like they’re getting it under control, more and more, they’re getting more and more under control,” Trump said. “So I think [COVID-19 is] a problem that’s going to go away.”
Trump has also blamed mainstream media and the Democratic party for allegedly blowing the severity of the COVID-19 out of proportion, such as in his March 9 tweet.
On March 13, Trump declared a National Emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak, freeing up $50 billion in federal resources to combat the spread of the virus.
Since declaring a state of National Emergency, Trump has echoed recommendations by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“We’re asking everyone to work at home. If possible, postpone unnecessary travel and limit social gatherings to no more than 10 people,” Trump said. “By making shared sacrifices and temporary changes, we can protect the health of our people, and we can protect our economy because I think our economy will come back very rapidly.”
Updates on the Trump administration’s COVID-19 response can be found on the White House’s website.
