Joe Biden reminded the American people on Thursday that the coronavirus pandemic is far from over and said the month’s positive jobs report does not compensate for the scale of the health crisis.
“There is no victory to be celebrated,” the Democrat presidential candidate said on a livestream from his Delaware home.
President Donald Trump trumpeted the job figures on Thursday, saying the 5 million new jobs showed the economy is “roaring back.” But with the unemployment rate still at 11.1% and the coronavirus cases spiking in several states, economists expressed concern about a stalling economic recovery.
Biden, while acknowledging he was happy for the people who are back at work, sought to tamp down Trump’s enthusiasm for the jobs report, saying the country is still in a “deep, deep hole.”
“We’re still down nearly 15 million jobs and the pandemic is getting worse, not better,” Biden said.
Biden continued his barrage of criticisms of Trump’s leadership and said millions of jobs and thousands of lives could have been saved if the president had acted sooner. He called on the president to focus his efforts on solving the health crisis, which he argued needs to first be addressed before the economy can recover.
“Act,” he said. “Lead. Lead. Or get out of the way so others can, Mr. President.”
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