Biden says if Trump acted sooner on coronavirus 'all the people would still be alive'

close

Video

Biden delivers ‘weak performance again’ at CNN town hall: Ari Fleischer

Fox News contributor Ari Fleischer on presidential candidate Joe Biden’s approach to the coronavirus and fracking.

Joe Biden indicated during a CNN town hall Thursday that President Trump is responsible for every single coronavirus death.

"If the president had done his job... had done his job from the beginning, all the people would still be alive," the Democratic presidential nominee told the audience in Pennsylvania. "All the people -- I’m not making this up. Just look at the data. Look at the data."

Critics on social media were quick to jump on Biden for his comments.

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY COMPARES MEDIA TREATMENT OF TRUMP VS. BIDEN: 'IT IS BEYOND PROPAGANDA'

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden participates in a CNN town hall moderated by Anderson Cooper in Moosic, Pa., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

"Yes, he was responsible for their preexisting conditions," one user wrote.

"Looking forward to @CNN fact-checking this," another replied.

His statement was also questioned by other mainstream news organizations. Politico said the former vice president "vastly overstated what protections could have worked against the virus."

Meanwhile, The Washington Post exclaimed Biden "is making this up."

"There is no data to support this, even if the president had moved rapidly in January to deal with the coronavirus and been able to persuade the Chinese leadership to be more forthcoming about the situation," the paper reported.

CNN PANNED FOR 'SOFTBALL' BIDEN TOWN HALL" THIS ISN'T GETTING HIM READY FOR THE DEBATES

Biden's remarks come as Trump told Bob Woodward in February that the coronavirus was "deadly stuff" while publicly comparing it to seasonal flu, according to excerpts from some of the interviews that were published by The Washington Post this month.

On March 19, Trump admitted to Woodward that he "wanted to always play it [the virus] down."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In an interview on "The Daily Briefing" on Thursday, Woodward told host Dana Perino that Trump "failed as a leader to warn the American people about the dangers" of COVID-19.

Fox News' Charles Creitz and Yael Halon contributed to this report