Published 11:11 IST, September 22nd 2020
'He betrayed you': Biden, Trump lash out at each other to appease voters ahead of polls
As US presidential elections are just around the corner, Joe Biden and Trump criticised each other and battled for votes in key Midwestern battleground states.
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As US presidential elections are just around the corner, Democratic nominee Joe Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump, both the leaders criticised each other and battled for votes in key Midwestern battleground states. On September 21, while Biden slammed Trump’s handing of coronavirus pandemic, the US President criticised the former Vice President’s record on trade.
The two candidates have been actively campaigning and their speeches - Biden in Wisconsin and Trump in Ohio - marked a return to the themes that dominated the race before the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Both the leaders, who will be facing each other on November 3, have repeatedly offered duelling arguments over which candidate can keep the country safe.
Biden in Wisconsin
Biden, on a campaign stop in Wisconsin, said that Trump ‘froze’ when faced with the enormous challenge posed by the health crisis and was not capable of the leadership needed to confront it. The former US vice president has been critical about Trump downplaying the pandemic even though it has nearly claimed 200,000 lives in America. On Monday, Biden said that the US President ‘just wasn’t up to it’. He added that Trump ‘froze, failed to act and panicked’.
“The simple truth is that Donald Trump ran for office saying he would represent the forgotten men and women of this country - and then once in office, he forgot them,” the Democratic presidential nominee said.
In Wisconsin, Biden said that Trump could have saved lives with a mask mandate but continued to hold rallies without social distancing or people wearing masks, and worried too much about spooking financial markets. “He loves his rallies. But the next time he holds one, looks closely. Trump keeps his distance,” he said. The Democratic leader further added, “He’s willing to let everyone in that crowd risk their life. But not him.”
Trump in Ohio
On the other hand, Trump, while addressing a crowd in Ohio, criticised Biden’s past support for free-trade deals that he said had cost the state jobs and hurt the economy in the upper Midwest. The US President said that Biden should not be asking for the support, but instead should be ‘begging for your forgiveness’. He went on the criticise his opponent and point out his past support for North American Free Trade Agreement, which has been replaced by a new pact under Trump. He also slammed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Trump withdrew from in 2017 after he took office.
Trump said, “He betrayed you, he lied to you, he abused you. Which is why it’s time to retire Joe Biden”.
In Ohio, Trump spoke about economic themes, which has been his re-election pitch. The US President promised the economy would bounce back strongly as the pandemic fades. Furthermore, the Republican leader went on to criticise Biden’s free-trade views and said, “If Biden wins, China wins. If we win, Ohio wins”.
(Image: PTI)
11:12 IST, September 22nd 2020