Biden: Trump testing promise a ‘baldfaced’ lie

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in a new op-ed is calling President Trump’s claims that coronavirus testing would be available to all Americans a “baldfaced lie.”

“It’s been more than two months since Trump claimed that ‘anybody that wants a test can get a test.’ It was a baldfaced lie when he said it, and it still isn’t remotely true,” the former vice president wrote in The Washington Post. “If we’re going to have thriving workplaces, restaurants, stores and parks, we need widespread testing. Trump can’t seem to provide it — to say nothing of worker safety protocols, consistent health guidelines or clear federal leadership to coordinate a responsible reopening.”

Biden also noted reports that the White House has implemented daily testing for the president and his staff.

“They knew exactly how to make the Oval Office safe and operational, and they put in the work to do it,” he wrote. “They just haven’t put in that same work for the rest of us. If Trump and his team understand how critical testing is to their safety — and they seem to, given their own behavior — why are they insisting that it’s unnecessary for the American people?”

His op-ed was published ahead of a planned press conference in which Trump and administration officials will discuss testing. It is unclear whether there will be a specific announcement at the Rose Garden event at 4 p.m. Monday afternoon.

Biden in the Washington Post op-ed wrote that Trump has also failed to take action to boost consumer confidence amid the flagging economy.

“You can shout from the rooftops that we’re open for business, but the economy will not get back to full strength if the number of new cases is still rising or plateauing and people don’t believe that it’s safe to return to normal activities,” he wrote. “Without measures in place to prevent the spread of the virus, many Americans won’t want to shop in stores, eat in restaurants or travel; small-business owners know that a nervous public won’t provide enough customers to ensure they thrive.”

Biden cited data from restaurant-booking service OpenTable that found that 12 days after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) allowed dine-in service to resume on April 27, the number of diners was still down 92 percent from the same day a year ago.