Ryan Nicol
Former Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Shevrin Jones accused President Donald Trump of failing front line workers through poor-handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Jones moderated a discussion Wednesday afternoon with the former Vice President and presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee.
“We need this conversation centered around the front line workers, which are the people who are physically vulnerable to contracting this virus and economically vulnerable as well,” Jones said.
“Many communities of color do not have the wealth or luxury to stay home. They have to continue working just to keep food on their table and a roof over their head, and at the same time they have to put their health and lives on the line by coming in contact with others.”
Biden urged Americans to recognize the importance of those workers in getting the country through the crisis.
“It’s time we as a nation thought about how much we depend on our grocery store clerks, our bus drivers, our transit workers. These are the folks who keep the food supply going and secure. These are the custodial and cleaning crews that make sure things are safe and clean,” Biden said.
“It’s so often our lowest-paid workers that have to step up during this crisis and crises like this. You’re putting yourselves on the line every single day and you’re sacrificing so much under dire circumstances to do your job. And you’re doing it for not just yourself, [but] for all of us.”
That virtual meeting featured testimony from several front line and union workers, such as drivers, teachers and workers in the food industry.
Biden and Jones criticized Trump for repeatedly downplaying the potential danger of the virus. While Trump did act early on partially banning travel from China — where the virus originated — he hesitated for weeks before eventually issuing widespread social distancing guidelines, which have now been adopted by many states. Those measures appear to have slowed the virus’s spread.
“Cities and states across the country have been trying to scrape together all they can find to protect front line workers,” Biden said Wednesday.
“But they need federal support to do that. This is a human crisis above all, but it’s also a failure of supply, logistics and distribution. One of our most sacred duties as a nation is to equip our troops when we send them into battle [and] care for them when they come home.”
Many municipalities in Florida now require masks or face coverings for workers — and customers — at essential businesses. Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York issued an Executive Order Wednesday requiring people in public to wear masks when social distancing is not possible.
But individuals have often been left to rely on handmade masks and other stopgap measures as the federal government delayed utilizing the Defense Production Act to order the manufacture of medical-grade masks.
“The President has promised us test kits,” Jones added. “And yet, he’s failed to deliver them. And this crisis has underscored our country’s need for a President who will prioritize the lives of the people.”
Shifting into campaign mode, Jones argued Biden would be that President.
While Florida has continued to ramp up its testing capacity, it was forced for weeks to issue restrictive guidelines on who could access those tests.
According to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, that’s because the state lacked a sufficient number of tests to provide them for everyone. That’s despite President Donald Trump’s repeated assertions that anyone who wants a test can have one.
Florida has finally begun to relax those strict requirements in recent days.
Biden also called on Congress to approve Senate Democrats’ plan to pay up to $25,000 to essential workers, including not just doctors and nurses but also truck drivers and custodial crews.
“The President says he’s a commander-in-chief, he’s in a war,” Biden said. “Well my lord, take care of the front line workers. They’re our generals. They’re our colonels. They’re our privates.”
Biden also criticized the President for misinformation regarding the virus, including his repeated assertions that it’s similar to the flu — which Trump has now pulled back from — or the President’s false claim that he has “total” authority to relax social distancing mandates established by state and local governments.
“When the President says things that are not accurate about the pandemic and people believe it — and then it turns out not to be true — it just further lowers public confidence,” Biden said.
“The American people need to have confidence right now and to know what the path is. And it’s hard to figure out what this path is all the way down the road. When can we open? Under what circumstance? In what way?”
The presumptive Democratic nominee did share optimism.
“We’re being tested like we’ve never been tested before as a country and I know that we’ll come through this.”
One comment
Charles Case
April 16, 2020 at 2:38 am
So I work on the front line of the front line at a local wholesale. I see every member that passes into or out of our warehouse on my shift. Yes it’s my duty and our staff has stepped it up to both help which is our job and protect members and us which is our responsibility at this particular time. All without much rejection but as a moral obligation. We pride ourselves on it. But although everyone talks we should get compensated I don’t see much of that. We’re is the support and appreciation. Talk is cheap.
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