Campaigning for Joe Biden at a car rally in Miami on Saturday, Barack Obama railed against President Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying "the rest of us have to live with the consequences of what he's done."
Driving the news: With less than two weeks before the election, the Biden campaign is drawing on the former president's popularity with Democrats to drive turnout and motivate voters.
What he's saying: [D]uring the debate, Trump was asked, 'What is your plan for the new phase of COVID, ' which is a pretty good question considering that we just saw the highest number of cases spike up yesterday. So you think he'd be ready for a response," Obama said.
- "Instead, he just said it wasn't his fault and he didn't have one. He said it's now gone in a bunch of states just as states are reaching new record highs nationwide," the former president told the crowd, who honked their car horns in support at the socially-distanced drive-in rally.
- Trump "doesn't have a plan. He doesn't even acknowledge the reality of what's taking place, all across the country," he added.
- "We literally left this White House a pandemic playbook that showed them how to respond before a virus reached our shores."
- "I knew [Trump] would not embrace my vision. I knew he wasn't going to continue my policies. But I did hope that for the country's sake, he'd show at least a little bit of interest in taking the job seriously."
- "Donald Trump isn't going to suddenly protect all of us. He can't even take the basic steps to protect himself. "
- "[T]he rest of us have to live with the consequences of what he's done. At least, 220,000 Americans are dead. More than 100,000 small businesses have closed."
The bottom line: "This election requires every single one of us. What we do in these next 10 days will matter for decades to come," Obama said.
Go deeper... Obama: Trump emboldens people to be "cruel and divisive and racist"
