Biden's first public appearance in two months met with mixed reaction
2020 hopeful Joe Biden wears a masks to lay a wreath on Memorial Day as he remains off the campaign trail; Axios reporter Jonathan Swan reacts.
Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.
President Trump on Tuesday ripped the Obama White House response to the swine flu epidemic a decade ago when Joe Biden was vice president, as Biden's campaign likewise hammered the president over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump accused Biden of being ineffective during the H1N1 outbreak, which infected more than 60 million people in the U.S. during the Obama administration.
TRUMP SAYS BIDEN 'NOT MENTALLY SHARP ENOUGH' TO BE POTUS: 'HE DOESN'T KNOW HE'S ALIVE'
"Joe Biden’s handling of the H1N1 Swine Flu was a complete and total disaster," Trump tweeted Tuesday morning. "Even polls on the matter were terrible!"
The swine flu pandemic hit the U.S. in 2009. According to CDC estimates, between April 12 of that year and April 10, 2010, there were 60.8 million cases, 274,304 hospitalizations, and 12,469 deaths in the United States due to the virus. A vaccine was made available in November 2009.
As of May 25, 2020, the CDC has reported 1,637,456 COVID-19 cases and 97,669 deaths, although those figures include both confirmed and possible cases.
Over the weekend, Biden attacked Trump by implying that the president has been ineffective during the current crisis. On Friday, he posted a campaign ad that claimed the president “froze like a deer in the headlights” when the coronavirus outbreak hit the U.S.
The ad called Trump “unprepared,” “indecisive,” and “paralyzed by his fear of offending the Chinese government.”
The next day, Biden posted another ad that implied Trump was taking a cavalier attitude toward the pandemic.
“Nearly 100,000 lives have been lost, and tens of millions are out of work. Meanwhile, the president spent his day golfing," Biden tweeted with an ad that showed clips of the president on the links juxtaposed with a rising death count.
Sunday, Trump pushed back by claiming that he had not played golf in months prior to the Memorial Day weekend, and that "Biden was constantly vacationing, relaxing & making shady deals with other countries" during the Obama administration. He also claimed that Obama himself "was always playing golf."
The jabs exchanged between the president and his presumptive Democratic opponent have escalated in recent days. In addition to accusations about how they have each handled medical crises, Trump said during an interview Sunday that Biden is "not mentally sharp enough" to be president.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
When asked to give an example of something positive Biden brings to the table as a political opponent, Trump did not name a single trait.
"Well, I would have said experience, but he doesn't really have experience because I don't think he remembers what he did yesterday,” Trump said.
More from Politics
Fox News Politics
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.