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Biden in Ohio: Trump 'doesn't know what he's doing' on COVID-19 response

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said President Donald Trump "doesn't know what he's doing" in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, during a pair of campaign stops in Ohio on Monday. File Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said President Donald Trump "doesn't know what he's doing" in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, during a pair of campaign stops in Ohio on Monday. File Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said President Donald Trump "doesn't know what he's doing" in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic during a campaign stop in Ohio Monday.

Biden spoke at a "drive-in rally" in Toledo on Monday afternoon. He criticized the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus, which has sickened 7.8 million people and killed more than 215,000, before attending a get-out-the-vote event in Cincinnati.

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"The longer Donald Trump is president, the more reckless he seems to get," Biden said.

The former vice president also condemned Trump for telling Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Woodward he sought to downplay the virus because he didn't want to "create a panic" among the American people, as well as questioning the president's actions since he tested positive for the virus earlier this month.

"Trump panicked. His reckless personal conduct since his diagnosis has been unconscionable," Biden said, as Trump was set to hold his first in-person rally since contracting the virus in Sanford, Fla., on Monday night.

Before arriving in Ohio, Biden responded to accusations by the Trump campaign that Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett has been targeted by Democrats for her Catholic faith.

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"I don't think there should be any questions about her faith," he said, as she prepared to face questioning from the Senate this week.

Biden, however, warned that Barrett's confirmation could pose a threat to the Affordable Care Act.

"This nominee has said she wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act," he said. "This president wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. Let's keep our eye on the ball. This is about less than one month [until] Americans are going to lose their health insurance."

While addressing United Auto Workers in Toledo, Biden declared that he and former President Barack Obama "stepped in and rescued the automobile industry" while Trump encouraged residents of Lordstown to not move or sell their houses in 2017, and the General Motors plant later closed.

Biden also noted Trump's call for a boycott of Ohio-based Goodyear Tires in response to reports the company banned political garb, including his own campaign merchandise.

"He betrayed union workers at Goodyear when he called for a boycott of their tires based on a personal grudge," Biden said.

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