Joe Biden
(Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Joe Biden on Trump Testing Positive for COVID-19: "I Wasn't Surprised"
During the Miami town hall Biden shared, "These masks, they matter. It matters. It saves lives."
The entire nation has been watching closely as Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis has taken over the news cycle. On Monday, during an NBC presidential town hall in Miami, Democratic nominee Joe Biden shared a few choice words on Trump's diagnosis and treatment.
During the town hall moderated by Lester Holt, Biden said, "I'm glad he seems to be coming along pretty well." The event occurred on the same day Trump left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He was being treated at the facility for COVID-19. Biden has tested negative for COVID-19 multiple times, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
When asked if he’d reached out personally to Trump, Biden shared it was decided that wouldn’t be in his best interest. "I inquired whether I should do that and the decision was that would probably be intrusive. But I'm truly happy that... if things are really moving along like he said, and particularly the First Lady as well, I'm very happy for that," Biden said.
He also added he was fearful of Trump's message to not fear the coronavirus would send negative messages to Americans. "I hope no one walks away with a message thinking it's not a problem. It's a serious problem," he said.
Holt later asked whether Biden was shocked when the president tested positive for the virus. Trump has held in-person rallies where attendees have been spotted wearing no masks. For example, Herman Cain recently passed from COVID-19 after attending a Trump rally in Oklahoma.
On if he was thrown off when he learned of Trump’s diagnosis he shared, "I wasn't surprised… Masks matter. These masks, they matter. It matters. It saves lives. It prevents the spread of the disease." He added here that if someone doesn’t have a mask or doesn’t social distance as the CDC guidelines state, it’s not shocking that a person would test positive.
\u201cJoe Biden tells NBC that he was not surprised to hear that Trump tested positive for COVID. "Frankly, I wasn't surprised."\u201d— Kyle Griffin (@Kyle Griffin) 1601943002
Biden also went on to express the importance of wearing masks rather than explicitly blaming Trump for contracting COVID-19. “Anybody who contracts the virus by essentially saying, masks don't matter, social distancing doesn't matter, I think is responsible for what happens to them."
At another point during the town hall, the disastrous presidential debate became the topic of discussion. The two nominees exchanged quite a few words and were sparring verbally during many parts of the recent debate. On the event, Biden shared, “I did get frustrated...the fact was, it was embarrassing for the nation.” He also said he “didn't want to further demean the process of the debate by getting in a shouting match” with Trump.
Strangely enough, Biden also acknowledged that he spotted Trump’s campaign team arriving with no masks ahead of the debate. “It was a little disconcerting to look out and see that, his whole section, no one had masks on, while my wife was sitting further down, had a mask on; the people with us had masks on. I didn't quite get that.” Following the debate, Trump and his wife Melania tested positive for COVID-19.
Hosted at the Pérez Art Museum in downtown Miami, the NBC-Biden town hall stuck to the social distancing guidelines. Up next is the vice presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence on Wednesday in Utah. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there will be plexiglass between the candidates to reduce the transmission of the deadly disease.
