Joe Biden and other top Democrats on Wednesday slammed President Donald Trump over comments he made about the coronavirus to journalist Bob Woodward for an upcoming book, including the president's acknowledgment that he "wanted to always play it down," even though he knew it was "deadly."
"It was a life-and-death betrayal of the American people," Biden said about the revelations during a campaign event in Warren, Michigan. "It’s beyond despicable. It’s a dereliction of duty, a disgrace."
"He knew how deadly it was. He knew and purposely played it down," Biden added. "Worse, he lied."
“This caused people to die," Biden told CNN in an interview set to air Thursday. "And what’d he do the whole time? He acknowledges you breathe it, it's in the air and he won't put on a mask."
"Think about what he did not do," Biden said, "and it's almost criminal."
Trump acknowledged the dangers of the coronavirus pandemic in a February interview with Woodward and acknowledged his public downplaying of the threat in a March interview, according to an account of Woodward's new book.
"I wanted to always play it down. I don't want to create a panic," Trump said in a March 19 call with Woodward, according to an audio clip posted on The Washington Post's website. The newspaper obtained a copy of the book, "Rage," which is scheduled to be released next week. Trump was briefed about the virus in January, according to Woodward.
"This is deadly stuff," Trump told Woodward in a Feb. 7 phone call.
Saying Trump "knowingly and willingly lied" about the threat the pandemic posed, Biden said Trump's remarks show that he "is unfit for this job."
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., assessed the potential political fallout even more bluntly.
“I don’t know how the president can survive this," he told NBC News. "I don't know how you can survive an election when you’re basically asking the people to give you another four years of anything, when you’re taking an oath and pledge to protect and defend the Constitution, but also each and every citizen of this country. And you wouldn't take something and we know you wouldn't take something as that, as serious as it is?"
Earlier, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell that those, and other, revelations suggested that Trump "was not on the level" and urged his own family, as well as the Republican Party, to stage "some kind of intervention" with him.
"The fact is that the coronavirus and the threat that it was is a reality. A president should face that reality. The way to avoid a panic is to show leadership, to say, 'This is what the challenge is, we're going to use the best scientific evidence that is available to us to contain it, we are going to make sure that we can stop the spread of it.' That is what stops a panic, not ignoring it," Pelosi said.
Pelosi said the revelation shows that Trump "didn't know how to cope with a challenge to our country" and proved that he had "disdain and denial for science, which has the answers. He could have contained this early on."
"What he said about the virus early on, he understood better than he let on, when he was calling it a hoax. His delay, distortion and denial about the threat is responsible for many of the deaths and infections that we have today, not all of them, but many of them, could have been prevented," Pelosi said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the revelations "damning proof that Donald Trump lied, and people died."
"We all know President Trump puts himself first, but this time the consequences were deadly. And when I think about how many people in my state died in February and March and April, it just makes me angry. I cannot believe he deceived the American people the way he did. How many people would still be alive today if he just told Americans the truth?" Schumer said at a news conference.
Several other Democrats in Congress fumed over the president's remarks later Wednesday.
