How Political Candidates Relate Covid-19 to Their Platforms

Nadya Lattanzi '20, Marymount News & Features Section Editor

In the midst of the global Covid-19 pandemic, presidential candidates have incorporated the issue into their platforms to both criticize how it has been handled and to illustrate how they would have managed it as president. Candidate Joe Biden has shared his beliefs on the crisis on multiple social media platforms and interviews, as he has urged the current president to utilize the Defensive Production Act, which would mandate that companies prioritize the production of essential medical equipment seeing as though various hospitals are short of supplies. Additionally, former candidate Bernie Sanders has expressed his support for universal healthcare during the crisis. He also introduced a proposal for a $2 trillion fund to support people who have lost their jobs, to strengthen the economy, and other causes. Additionally, the current president and Republican candidate Donald Trump has been criticized for his slow reaction to the Covid-19 crisis by many. President Trump has compared the pandemic to the flu and has repeated that it is under control to the public while constantly criticizing China for supposedly withholding information. However, with a failing economy and thousands of fatalities, these words have been hard to believe by the public. Candidate Biden has stated that Trump’s “failings and his delays [are] causing real pain for so many Americans.” He has also accused Trump of withholding the truth from the American people, saying, “in times of crisis, the American people deserve a president who tells them the truth. Unfortunately, President Trump has not been that president.”