Biden accuses Trump of raising the ‘white flag’ on pandemic after White House says US won’t ‘control’ coronavirus

Joe Biden gave a speech in Warm Springs, Georgia, on Tuesday with just one week left before Election Day (AP)
Joe Biden gave a speech in Warm Springs, Georgia, on Tuesday with just one week left before Election Day (AP)

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has accused the Trump administration of raising the “white flag” on the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Biden gave a speech in Warm Springs, Georgia, on Tuesday, which largely focused on the reality Americans currently face amid the pandemic.

On Sunday, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said the US is “not going to control the pandemic” when speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper. “We are not going to control the pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas,” Mr Meadows said.

That admission, Mr Biden said, showed how the White House was raising the white flag on the novel virus.

“It’s a waving of the white flag. It’s a window of truth into the White House,” Mr Biden told the Georgia crowd. “Think about all of those who have died … They were giving their all while the president was giving up."

The speech included Mr Biden vowing to react differently to the pandemic compared to President Donald Trump and his administration.

“We can and will control this virus. As president, I will never wave the white flag of surrender,” he said.

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