‘This is a crisis’: Biden, Sanders offer differing COVID-19 plans at Democratic debate
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders called for increased testing in the U.S. for the rapidly spreading coronavirus and economic relief for Americans suffering as a result of the global pandemic, as they sought to position themselves in Sunday’s Democratic presidential debate as best prepared to lead a nation through a crisis.
«This is bigger than any one of us. This calls for a national rallying for one another,» Biden said. He also committed to picking a woman as his running mate if he wins the party’s nomination.
Asked how he as president would alleviate the strains, Sanders, a Vermont senator, said that the crisis further shows the need for a holistic overhaul of the country’s economic system.
He further panned President Donald Trump’s uneven handling of the crisis, urging the president to stop hindering medical professionals by «blabbering with unfactual information that is confusing the American public.»
«People are looking for results, not a revolution,» Biden responded. He stressed he would focus on meeting «immediate needs» like helping Americans ensure they don’t miss mortgage payments.
Earlier Sunday, the Federal Reserve took massive emergency action to help the economy withstand the coronavirus by slashing its benchmark interest rate to near zero and saying it would buy $700 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds.
At the beginning of the debate, Biden and Sanders skipped a handshake and greeted each other instead with an elbow bump. Then they took their positions at podiums spaced six feet apart in keeping with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for limiting the spread of the novel coronavirus. They addressed the nation, and each other, from a television studio in Washington without an in-person audience.
The debate was the first head-to-head faceoff between Biden and Sanders, who are vying to become the Democratic presidential nominee. After a sluggish start to the primary season, Biden rapidly surged to the front of the field, consolidating support among moderates and moving within striking distance of the Democratic nomination.
