Joe Biden Attacks Donald Trump On Coronavirus, 'Ignored The Warnings,' Put 'Trust In China's Leaders'

In a new online political ad, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden attacked President Trump, claiming Trump prioritized information from China about the virus over U.S. health experts and intelligence agencies.

"The uncomfortable truth is that Donald Trump left America exposed and vulnerable to this pandemic. He ignored the warnings of health experts and intelligence agencies and put his trust in China's leaders instead," Biden said in the ad. He claimed that Trump defunded an Obama administration program tracking emergency infectious diseases, along with cutting Centers for Disease Control experts embedded in China.

"And now, we're all paying the price," Biden said in the ad.

The attack ad was among the first in the general-election phase.

Trump has often attacked China for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, deflecting responsibility for his handling of the crisis. At one point, Trump was calling the virus the “China virus,” drawing criticism from Asian-American advocacy groups. Trump also recently withdrew U.S. funding from the World Health Organization, partially because he believes the organization is too close with Beijing.

At the same time, Trump may not want to criticize China too much, as it could possibly put his “Phase One” trade deal with China in jeopardy. The deal obliges Beijing to buy $200 billion in U.S. agricultural and other goods over the next two years, with the Trump administration agreeing to suspend planned tariff increases on Chinese goods.

Trump was complimentary of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s handling of the virus in China during the early stages of the global outbreak.

“I’m confident that they’re trying very hard,” Trump told an Arizona radio station on Feb. 19, referring to the Chinese government. “I know President Xi. I get along with him very well. We just made a great trade deal, which is going to be a lot of business for Arizona and every other place. But they are trying very, very hard, and I think the numbers are going to get progressively better as we go along.”

As of 4:25 p.m. ET, there are over 2.3 million coronavirus cases, with the global death toll at 158,422.