(Reuters) – Joe Biden’s U.S. presidential campaign and his Democratic Party allies have gone on an all-out offensive against President Donald Trump’s coronavirus response, betting it will be a winning issue with American voters in November.
FILE PHOTO: Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the 11th Democratic candidates debate of the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, held in CNN’s Washington studios without an audience because of the global coronavirus pandemic, in Washington, U.S., March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
Just weeks ago, Democrats were treading carefully as Trump commanded the spotlight with his daily briefings on the virus, hesitant to avoid looking too partisan as the pandemic took its toll on jobs and health.
Now Democrats believe weeks of Trump’s unfiltered media performances have done more harm than good for the Republican president seeking re-election on Nov. 3, and their aggressive response aims to expose what they see as his faulty handling of the crisis.
Biden’s campaign team talking points accuse Trump of “one of the worst policy mistakes any president has made in our history.” New campaign ads in battleground states say Trump failed to act on the coronavirus, which has now infected more than 977,500 Americans and killed more than 55,000, and call him overly trusting of China during the pandemic.
“This has given us an issue that is unifying across all walks of life,” said Bradley Beychok, president of American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic group funding some of the ads. “Trump’