‘He has failed miserably’: Kamala Harris criticizes Trump’s handling of COVID-19
In a speech Thursday, Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for vice president, criticized President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying he has “failed to protect the American people.”
Video Transcript
KAMALA HARRIS: Because unlike the Democratic Convention, which was very clear-eyed about the challenges we are facing and how we will tackle them, the Republican Convention is designed for one purpose, to soothe Donald Trump's ego, to make him feel good.
But here's the thing. He is the president of the United States. And it's not supposed to be about him. It's supposed to be about the health and the safety and the well-being of the American people. And on that measure, Donald Trump has failed.
You see, at its most basic level, Donald Trump doesn't understand the presidency. He thinks it's all about him. Well, it's not. It's about you. It's about all of us, the people.
As a lawyer and advocate, when I would rise to speak in a courtroom, I'd say the following words, "Kamala Harris, for the people." And that is why I stand today, to speak for the people. Because we know the truth. Donald Trump has failed at the most basic and important job of a president of the United States. He failed to protect the American people. Plain and simple.
Trump showed that we in the legal profession would call a reckless disregard for the well-being of the American people. A reckless disregard for the danger a pandemic would pose to American lives. For the devastation it would do to our economy. For the damage it would do to communities of color who have been subjected to structural racism for generations. For the chaos that would upend our daily lives. Make it impossible for many of our children to go to school. Make it impossible to live normally and with a sense of certainty.
He never appreciated that a president swears an oath before God and country to protect America against threats seen and unseen. It's his duty, it's his obligation to protect us. And yet, he has failed miserably.
