At a campaign rally, President Donald Trump attempted to insult his Democratic opponent by telling the crowd that Vice President Joe Biden would “listen to scientists” regarding COVID-19.
During a stop in Carson City, Nevada, Trump spoke to about 5,000 of his mostly unmasked supporters, who often cheered his comments.
“He will surrender your future to the virus. He’s going to lockdown, he’s going to want us to lockdown,” Trump warned.
“He’ll listen to the scientists,” Trump continued in a mocking tone. “If I listened totally to the scientists, we would right now have a country that would be in a massive depression, instead of, we’re like a rocket ship. Take a look at the numbers.”
Amid the pandemic that has killed more than 219,000 people, the president has repeatedly downplayed the severity of the virus, rejected fact, spread false information, and generally refused health experts’ guidance.
A spokesman for the Biden campaign, Andrew Bates, called Trump “out of touch” in a tweet on Sunday.
“This is tellingly out of touch and the polar opposite of reality. Trump crashed the strong economy he inherited from the Obama-Biden Administration by lying about and attacking the science, and layoffs are rising,” Bates said. “Meanwhile, Joe Biden would create millions more jobs than Trump.”
According to The Guardian, unemployment had fallen sharply since it reached its record high in April but is beginning to show signs of slowing as more companies announce layoffs. The current unemployment rate sits much higher than when Trump was elected in 2016.
Trump’s comments come as the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths continue to rise in the United States.
