'More people may die,' Biden says, if Trump blocks cooperation on virus planning

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Doina Chiacu

 

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden speaks about the U.S. economy as Vice President-elect Kamala Harris stands by following their briefing with economic advisers in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., November 16, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

 

WILMINGTON, Del./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Joe Biden said on Monday "more people may die" if outgoing President Donald Trump continues to block efforts to plan for a U.S. transition of power as the coronavirus pandemic worsens, and added that he would not hesitate to get vaccinated.

 

Biden also said business and labor leaders had signaled willingness to cooperate to fix the pandemic-battered U.S. economy but stressed COVID-19 first must be brought under control and urged Congress to pass relief legislation.

 

The Democratic president-elect delivered a speech and took questions from journalists in Wilmington, Delaware, after consulting with the CEOs of top U.S. companies and labor leaders on Monday.

 

He welcomed further progress in COVID-19 vaccine development.

 

Biden said the CEOs and labor leaders were "ready to come together" and that "the unity was astounding." Biden will inherit an economy that has suffered millions of job losses during a pandemic that has killed more than 246,000 people in the United States. U.S. COVID-19 cases are surging as Biden prepares to take office on Jan. 20.

 

 

"We're going into a very dark winter. Things are going to get much tougher before they get easier," Biden said of the pandemic.

 

In response to a question about the consequences of the Trump administration not cooperating with the Biden transition team on fighting the pandemic, he said, "More people may die if we don't coordinate."

 

"As you battle COVID, we have to make sure that businesses and workers have the tools, the resources and the national guidance and health and safety standards to operate safely," Biden added.

 

Biden said it would be a lot easier for the presidential transition if Trump were to cooperate but said of the incumbent's refusal to concede: "I find this more embarrassing for the country than debilitating for my ability to get started."

 

He called for bipartisan cooperation against the pandemic and urged Congress to pass pandemic relief legislation. Talks on such legislation stalled for months before the Nov. 3 election.

 

Biden said the coronavirus continues to spread "almost unabated" and that it was state governors who were stepping up.

 

On other economic matters, Biden said he plans to pursue "a fairer tax structure" with corporations paying their fair share and added that he wanted to see a $15 hourly minimum wage nationwide. Biden said no government contracts will be given to companies that do not make products in the United States.

 

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris held a midday video conference with several chief executives including General Motors Co's <GM.N> Mary Barra, Microsoft Corp's <MSFT.O> Satya Nadella, Target Corp's <TGT.N> Brian Cornell and Gap Inc's <GPS.N> Sonia Syngal.

 

Also taking part were AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka and the heads of the Service Employees International Union, the United Auto Workers and two other large unions.

 

Biden told reporters that he made it clear to corporations on the video conference that he is a "union guy."

 

'READY FOR PRIME TIME'

Biden earlier on Monday said Moderna Inc's <MRNA.O> announcement that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was 94.5% effective based on interim data from a late-stage trial provided fresh hope for beating the coronavirus. Coupled with positive results last week on a rival Pfizer Inc <PFE.N> shot, Moderna's news added to optimism that widespread vaccination in the coming months could help tame the pandemic.

 

Asked whether he personally would be willing to get vaccinated with one of the newly developed shots, Biden said, "I wouldn't hesitate to get the vaccine."

 

"They appear to be ready for prime time, ready to be used," Biden said of the two vaccine candidates.

 

Biden also urged Americans to limit the number of people at gatherings for next week's Thanksgiving holiday, with social distancing and masks encouraged.

 

Unlike in 2008, when the country elected Democrat Barack Obama and his running mate Biden as the global economy teetered from the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the worst of the current economic downturn may have passed. Unemployment has come down sharply from its April peak of 14.7% to 6.9% and is projected to fall further throughout next year.

 

TRUMP DIGS IN

Biden moved ahead with economic planning even as the Republican Trump on Monday again refused to accept his election loss. Trump's national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, said on Monday he was prepared to ensure a professional transition to Biden's team.

 

"If the Biden-Harris ticket is determined to be the winner, and obviously things look like that now, we'll have a very professional transition from the National Security Council, there's no question about it," O'Brien said.

 

Biden beat Trump by the same 306-232 margin in the state-by-state Electoral College that prompted Trump to proclaim a "landslide" victory in 2016. Biden also won the national popular vote by at least 5.5 million votes, or 3.6 percentage points, with some ballots still being counted.

 

Trump has made no headway with legal challenges in multiple states so far.

 

"I won the Election!" Trump wrote on Monday on Twitter, again falsely claiming victory. Twitter posted a disclaimer saying, "Official sources called this election differently."

 

Election officials from both parties have said there is no evidence of major irregularities. Federal election security officials have decried "unfounded claims" and expressed "utmost confidence" in the election's integrity.

 

Trump suffered another setback when James Bopp, a conservative attorney, on Monday voluntarily withdrew lawsuits filed in federal courts seeking to block the states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin from certifying their election results. The lawsuits made unsubstantiated claims of illegal voting.

 

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Wilmington and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Jan Wolfe, Jason Lange, David Shepardson, John Whitesides, David Morgan, Julie Steenhuysen, Michael Erman, Tom Hals and Daniel Trotta; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Scott Malone and Howard Goller)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-11-17

 

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Correction:

More people will die.

What is Mr. Trump thinking? 

He knows he's leaving. 

He should be thinking of his legacy now.

He's been the worst president in American history (in my opinion) but even in that context, he has had some good accomplishments.

One of them is in the news right now. His leadership on speeding up vaccine research and development.

But now he wants to throw ice water on that by refusing to be an adult and cooperating with his successor?

Horrible!

Edited November 16, 20205 yr by Jingthing

Biden's ideas seem for the most part pretty practical, useful, and noble.  Nah, they'll never fly in the U.S.

15 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

What is Mr. Trump thinking? 

Oh!...................He thinks? ????

I'm thinking doesn't Trump have enough lawsuits on his plate when he comes out of Presidential immunity, without a wealthy family suing him for negligence? Or a class action being launched?

That to me its criminal negligence and dereliction of duty no excuses I could care less if donalds feelings are hurt people are dying business are going belly up no excuses absolutely the worst president ever a true disgrace on every level and how refreshing to listen to a practical fact driven adult with a top notch team behind him.I do feel the need to state that trump at least in the first year had a good responsible team but he got rid of all the good ones cause they wouldent allow Donald to (act up) just beggers belief that we find ourselves in this sorry state

46 minutes ago, Slip said:

Biden's ideas seem for the most part pretty practical, useful, and noble.  Nah, they'll never fly in the U.S.

Predicated upon McConnell acting in the national interest, as opposed to hyper-partisan politics. The man and the GOP should be ashamed of themselves, but no, Dear Leader, is more important than the people they represent.

 

On the bright side McConnell has condemned trump's proposal for early withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan i.e. handing control to the Taliban.

 

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/16/mcconnell-trump-afghan-troop-reduction-436821

59 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I'm thinking doesn't Trump have enough lawsuits on his plate when he comes out of Presidential immunity, without a wealthy family suing him for negligence? Or a class action being launched?

Lock him up!

I'm still wondering. I don't really like Mr. Trump, but all i saw the last days. He was declared to be President only by all mass media worldwide. 

Haven't heard an official status by the electoral board.

Well, we all should remain silent and respect democratic rules, as long as we don't want to accept dictatorship.

 

Oh, by the way. If fraud is proven in one state, ALL votes belong to Trump there.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Trump suffered another setback when James Bopp, a conservative attorney, on Monday voluntarily withdrew lawsuits filed in federal courts seeking to block the states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin from certifying their election results. The lawsuits made unsubstantiated claims of illegal voting.

“Sorry because of atty client privilege and because I do not telegraph my next moves, I cannot comment,” Bopp wrote in an email.

Bopp’s lawsuit promised, but did not provide, damning evidence of “illegal ballot stuffing, ballot harvesting, and other illegal voting.”

“This evidence will be shortly forthcoming when the relevant official documents are final and available, for which discovery may be required, and the result of the analysis and expert reports based thereon will show that sufficient illegal ballots were included in the results to change or place in doubt the November 3 presidential-election results,” the complaint vowed and never delivered".

https://lawandcrime.com/2020-election/pro-trump-wisconsin-lawyers-spike-election-lawsuit-on-morning-of-court-hearing/

 

 

2 hours ago, webfact said:

"If the Biden-Harris ticket is determined to be the winner, and obviously things look like that now, we'll have a very professional transition from the National Security Council, there's no question about it," O'Brien said.

Still a long time left before its official

 

Saturday’s election verdict isn’t the last step in selecting an American president. Under a system that’s been tweaked over two centuries, there is still a weekslong timeline during which the 538-member Electoral College picks the president.

https://apnews.com/article/Biden-wins-electoral-college-Trump-511b69134b9120a2f114e6781a54da84

 

 

Edited November 17, 20205 yr by riclag
txt

Many have already died due to Trump’s mishandling of the virus. He should be tried and jailed. Along with Kushner and Trump’s enablers in congress.

35 minutes ago, UB40 said:

I'm still wondering. I don't really like Mr. Trump, but all i saw the last days. He was declared to be President only by all mass media worldwide. 

Haven't heard an official status by the electoral board.

Well, we all should remain silent and respect democratic rules, as long as we don't want to accept dictatorship.

 

Oh, by the way. If fraud is proven in one state, ALL votes belong to Trump there.

Another I-don't-like-Trump-but comment.

And no, he wasn't "declared to be President only by all mass media worldwide." But I guess this comment of yours does tell us something about which media you rely on.

Edited November 17, 20205 yr by placeholder

Trump fights to keep a job he shows no interest in performing

Imagine if, in November 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had decided to check out of World War II because it wasn’t going as well as he had hoped. Imagine if he had secluded himself in the Oval Office, listening to the radio all day, laughing at “Fibber McGee and Molly” and cursing at Walter Winchell’s news program. Imagine if, instead of attending meetings with his military chiefs, he spent his time purging government officials who weren’t loyal New Dealers and screaming about supposed fraud in the midterm elections (a big Republican victory).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/16/trump-fights-keep-job-he-shows-no-interest-performing/

35 minutes ago, riclag said:

“Sorry because of atty client privilege and because I do not telegraph my next moves, I cannot comment,” Bopp wrote in an email.

Bopp’s lawsuit promised, but did not provide, damning evidence of “illegal ballot stuffing, ballot harvesting, and other illegal voting.”

“This evidence will be shortly forthcoming when the relevant official documents are final and available, for which discovery may be required, and the result of the analysis and expert reports based thereon will show that sufficient illegal ballots were included in the results to change or place in doubt the November 3 presidential-election results,” the complaint vowed and never delivered".

https://lawandcrime.com/2020-election/pro-trump-wisconsin-lawyers-spike-election-lawsuit-on-morning-of-court-hearing/

 

 

Still a long time left before its official

 

Saturday’s election verdict isn’t the last step in selecting an American president. Under a system that’s been tweaked over two centuries, there is still a weekslong timeline during which the 538-member Electoral College picks the president.

https://apnews.com/article/Biden-wins-electoral-college-Trump-511b69134b9120a2f114e6781a54da84

 

 

Talking about desperate, Trump lost get over it. 

Edited November 17, 20205 yr by FritsSikkink

51 minutes ago, UB40 said:

Oh, by the way. If fraud is proven in one state, ALL votes belong to Trump there.

How does that work?  45 claims widespread fraud but so far has not offered incontrovertible proof or won, to the best of my knowledge, any lawsuits.

 

They even filed lawsuits in counties where they won the vote!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trumps-big-new-election-lawsuit-alleges-voter-fraud-potentially-happened-in-2-pennsylvania-counties-both-overwhelmingly-voted-for-him/ar-BB1aSVsj

 

"It will go away".

Just for that sentence, and numerous similar repetitions, the American people should have kicked out that incompetent excuse of a president. But no, more than 70,000,000 want 4 more years of the same.

There is no cure for stupidity.

Hillary conceded, did not wait until December for "official" EC vote count. Obama met with Trump the next day. Why? Because transition of power in as seamless a manner as possible was in the best interests of the country.

Trump is doing everything he can to leave USA in more of a derelict state in time of transition than he has over the previous 4 years, everything he can to make task of governing even more difficult. Playing golf while virus rages, he and minions inciting masses to not follow health guidelines that might slow virus spread, putting lackeys into Pentagon command positions, etc etc. Trump is a clear and present danger to the republic.

A false claims post re Joe Biden's status as president-elect has been removed, along with several replies.

 

Quote

The president-elect of the United States is the person who has won a presidential election in the United States but has yet to take office as president. There is no explicit indication in the Constitution when that person actually becomes president-elect.^[1] An unofficial term, president-elect has been used by the media for decades. Politicians have applied the term to the declared winner, even soon after election night.^[2]

 

Quote

Joe Biden is the president-elect of the United States, having defeated incumbent Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.^[4][5][6][7]

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President-elect_of_the_United_States

 

D trump only cares about number 1 no one else in usa ,pity u.s people cant see this what man is !!!

45 is a cornered animal, facing a mountain of litigation as soon as his "presidential" protection is gone. Oh, and Maxine Waters (head of the House Committee of Financial Services) will have full access to 45's financials. Imagine what she will do when the truth is finally revealed?

5 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

"It will go away".

Just for that sentence, and numerous similar repetitions, the American people should have kicked out that incompetent excuse of a president. But no, more than 70,000,000 want 4 more years of the same.

There is no cure for stupidity.

 

Yes, yes, anyone who doesn't share your political views and agenda must be stupid.

 

Massive re-education needed (forced); good citizens programs to reward the politically correct. And perhaps a one party state, which allows no criticism, rewards compliance and punishes anyone telling the truth.

 

Those 70,000,000 plus are fully entitled to vote how they want. And many are probably more intelligent than you!

5 minutes ago, J Town said:

45 is a cornered animal, facing a mountain of litigation as soon as his "presidential" protection is gone. Oh, and Maxine Waters (head of the House Committee of Financial Services) will have full access to 45's financials. Imagine what she will do when the truth is finally revealed?

 

He's beginning to look like a rabbit caught in the head lights!

 

Will be very interesting to see what comes out. 

12 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

Yes, yes, anyone who doesn't share your political views and agenda must be stupid.

 

Massive re-education needed (forced); good citizens programs to reward the politically correct. And perhaps a one party state, which allows no criticism, rewards compliance and punishes anyone telling the truth.

 

Those 70,000,000 plus are fully entitled to vote how they want. And many are probably more intelligent than you!

Voters can have any political view they want. Right wing, left wing, conservative, socialist, communist, whatever.

But please for someone who makes sense and who at least tries to work for the people.

What did Trump do to fight Covid? Anything? I am sure the pharma companies didn't need any motivation from him to develop a vaccine and make lots of money. So what did he do? He didn't do even the most basic things like telling people to wear masks. And he didn't even make sure that at least all health workers have proper protection.

He failed, completely, totally.

And it's not that this is hidden information. It's all over the news everyday. And even rightwing Trumpist must have noticed that lots of people are sick and die. And then they want 4 years more of that incompetence? Amazing!

16 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

He's beginning to look like a rabbit caught in the head lights!

 

Will be very interesting to see what comes out. 

 

Hasenpfeffer? 

Rabbit Stew with Mushrooms Recipe | SimplyRecipes.com

 

In other words, in translation, "he's cooked"!!!

Edited November 17, 20205 yr by TallGuyJohninBKK

2 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Yes, yes, anyone who doesn't share your political views and agenda must be stupid.

 

Massive re-education needed (forced); good citizens programs to reward the politically correct. And perhaps a one party state, which allows no criticism, rewards compliance and punishes anyone telling the truth.

 

Those 70,000,000 plus are fully entitled to vote how they want. And many are probably more intelligent than you!

You are missing the point. Many of Trump’s followers only consume news from divisive and conspiracy theory filled media outlets. They actually believe the lies. So yes  they are stupid.

 

Many voted for Trump just because they would never vote for a republican. Horrible way to pick a politician.

 

The dodgy websites need to be cleaned out. Sadly, many aren't smart enough to fact check what they read.

34 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

You are missing the point. Many of Trump’s followers only consume news from divisive and conspiracy theory filled media outlets. They actually believe the lies. So yes  they are stupid.

 

Many voted for Trump just because they would never vote for a republican. Horrible way to pick a politician.

 

The dodgy websites need to be cleaned out. Sadly, many aren't smart enough to fact check what they read.

I joined that new website the 45 supporters are all flocking to. It's exactly what you would expect of those with that uncensored mindset.

1 hour ago, Jeffr2 said:

You are missing the point. Many of Trump’s followers only consume news from divisive and conspiracy theory filled media outlets. They actually believe the lies. So yes  they are stupid.

 

4 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

Yes, yes, anyone who doesn't share your political views and agenda must be stupid.

As Jeffr2 has said, "you are missing the point" because sure, everyone is entitled to their own political view and that's the way it's always been in "free" countries, but one has to wonder at the intelligence of followers who will lap up conspiracy theories, deep state rubbish and also overlook statements which are blatant lies.

 

Then of course follow a racist, misogynistic buffoon who went against the advice of the medical profession and has cost tens of thousands of lives, so I don't know what category you want to put that in, but I would certainly label it "stupid".

A post with a social media video making and repeating unsubstantiated election claims has been removed.

4 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Voters can have any political view they want. Right wing, left wing, conservative, socialist, communist, whatever.

But please for someone who makes sense and who at least tries to work for the people.

What did Trump do to fight Covid? Anything? I am sure the pharma companies didn't need any motivation from him to develop a vaccine and make lots of money. So what did he do? He didn't do even the most basic things like telling people to wear masks. And he didn't even make sure that at least all health workers have proper protection.

He failed, completely, totally.

And it's not that this is hidden information. It's all over the news everyday. And even rightwing Trumpist must have noticed that lots of people are sick and die. And then they want 4 years more of that incompetence? Amazing!

 

Name any first world leader whose made a fantastic job of managing the Covid pandemic? Johnson, Merkel, Macron, Mohdi, Xi, Putin etc etc. And in many cases, the true numbers aren't really known.

 

The big pharma companies are like other big industrials - never interested really in their customers apart from what they can profit from. 

 

Covid has shown just how inept the political classes really are; how self serving they are; and also highlighted that scientists, medical professionals, etc are only human and do not have immediate answers for everything.

 

Trump as performed as Trump does; like it or not. But you could do better?  And better than Macron, Johnson and all the other floundering leaders in the first world?

 

People don't vote on one issue. Corbyn tried to claim that when he was obliterated in the last British Election. That's just an excuse. Americans will have looked at the policies, performances, debates etc etc and made their choice. Trump, another 4 years; Biden a fresh approach or even for the independents. That doesn't make any more intelligent than others based on their decision. 

 

Totalitarianism, whichever brand, relies on abusing political opponents, harassment, intimidation and eventual prohibition of any differing views. Declaring people stupid for their political views is a foot on the slope.

 

 

2 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

You are missing the point. Many of Trump’s followers only consume news from divisive and conspiracy theory filled media outlets. They actually believe the lies. So yes  they are stupid.

 

Many voted for Trump just because they would never vote for a republican. Horrible way to pick a politician.

 

The dodgy websites need to be cleaned out. Sadly, many aren't smart enough to fact check what they read.

 

You actually typify the intolerance that leads to totalitarian regimes.

 

Who decides what's fake news, conspiracy theory etc - you? Governments? Politicians? Political pressure groups?

 

Who decides who gets investigated and who doesn't? 

 

Why would some vote for Trump because they would never vote for a republican???

 

But many people, in democracies, do vote for one party. Sometimes even because that's who their parents voted for; or because all their friends and peers vote that way. They do this regardless of policies, performances and individual personnel changes. In the UK The Labour Party got a massive kick in the pants last election as many former staunch Labour voters switched sides. First time I can remember such a situation. Not sure if that happens more or less in other countries.

 

We live in the information age. That is good and bad. People need to learn how to carefully research for themselves but it isn't helped with all media being owned by a relatively few with their own agendas. Rupert Murdoch for one.