Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) slammed President Trump on Sunday for spreading “unfactual information” about the coronavirus, accusing him of muddling facts about the pandemic at a crucial moment.
“It is unacceptable for him to be blabbering with unfactual information that is confusing the American public,” Sanders said at a Democratic presidential debate with former Vice President Joe Biden in Washington.
Sanders’s remarks come as the COVID-19 outbreak makes its way across the globe. The pandemic has forced the cancellation or postponement of major public events, roiled financial markets, and raised questions about the U.S. government’s ability to swiftly respond to such a public health crisis.
For weeks, Trump complained that the threat posed by the virus had been overhyped by Democrats and the media, insisting that the coronavirus was no more serious than a seasonal flu. Sanders said on Sunday that Trump’s rhetoric around the outbreak “exacerbates the crisis.”
In recent days, Trump has changed his tone on the outbreak. On Wednesday, he made a prime-time address from the Oval Office and announced a temporary ban on travel from Europe. He has also sought relief for businesses and individuals who have been impacted by the virus.
Both Sanders and Biden took aim at Trump’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak in separate addresses this past week.
In an address from Burlington, Vt., on Thursday, Sanders slammed the Trump administration as “largely incompetent,” saying that that “incompetence and recklessness have threatened the lives of many, many people in our country.”