Head of GOP says coronavirus failures are somehow Biden's fault

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel on Sunday tried to blame Donald Trump’s failure to stop the spread of the coronavirus on Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, even though Biden is not currently president and has had nothing to do with the government’s response to the deadly pandemic.

“Joe Biden can’t run from his disastrous record responding to the coronavirus,” McDaniel tweeted on Sunday. “The truth hurts, Joe!”

McDaniel’s comment is part of a growing trend from Republicans, who have tried to claim anyone but Trump is culpable for Trump’s pandemic response, which has resulted in over 6.5 million cases in the United States and 193,950 deaths — more than in any other country in the world.

Last week, Republicans’ Senate nominee for Michigan, John James, claimed his Democratic opponent, incumbent Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, was responsible for the country’s failed coronavirus response — a charge not based in reality given that Trump, not Peters, is the leader of the country.

“You know what his responsibility is? To prepare us for pandemics. And he failed,” James said of Peters in a warm-up speech for Trump at a Trump campaign rally in Michigan. “And he downplayed the virus at the beginning of this year … and then he wants to come up and talk about getting your vote again.”

James’ comment was even more jarring given that it came one day after the explosive revelation that Trump intentionally downplayed the dangers of the coronavirus to the American public, despite privately knowing how contagious and deadly the virus was.

That comment — which came during an interview with Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward — is dogging Trump’s reelection bid with just 50 days to go until the election.

An ABC News poll from Sunday found just 35% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, with just 31% of adults saying they trust what Trump says about the virus.

Trump’s coronavirus response threatens to sink his reelection bid, as Biden currently holds a steady national polling lead of 7.2%, according to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average.

Biden, for his part, has hammered Trump for lying to the public about the virus.

“It was a life-and-death betrayal of the American people,” Biden said last week, shortly after Trump’s comments were revealed. “It’s beyond despicable. It’s a dereliction of duty, a disgrace.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.