(Headline USA) Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said he would follow public health advisers’ advice if they called for a national shutdown should he take office and the coronavirus had not abated.
“I would be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives. We cannot get the country moving until we control the virus,” Biden said in an interview broadcast Sunday night on ABC News.
Asked specifically whether he’d push to shutter economic activity if scientists said it was necessary, Biden replied: “I would shut it down.”
The former vice president’s remarks came as part of his first joint interview with vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris. The pair accepted their party’s nominations during a virtual convention last week. On Monday, Republicans begin their convention to nominate President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence for a second term…
Biden has consistently backed adding a “public option” to existing private insurance markets. Harris signed on to Sen. Bernie Sanders’s bill that would create a single-payer government insurance system to replace private insurance.
“I signed on to bills that were about great ideas to fix the problem,” Harris told ABC, arguing she and Biden “are completely aligned on … making sure everyone has health care.”
Biden called any differences “tactical” but said, “We both believe that health care is a right, not a privilege.”
Trump and fellow Republicans have suggested Biden is mentally unfit for the presidency. Biden smiled when asked about the characterization and said he remains eager to debate the president. Biden said he has no problem with voters questioning his fitness.
“It’s a legitimate question to ask” about his and Trump’s ages, Biden said.
Adapted from reporting by Associated Press.
