'Professional team' to help Biden counter daily virus briefings

FPI / March 22, 2020

From the get-go, Joe Biden has been critical of President Donald Trump's briefings on the coronavirus outbreak. Now, the likely Democratic Party presidential nominee plans on holding his own "shadow" coronavirus briefings.

“They tell me there’s ways we can do teleconferencing via us all being in different locations,” Biden said.

The former vice president said he is having his home in Delaware rigged up with equipment that will allow him to give briefings and interviews from his living room. Biden is planning a regular "shadow" briefing on coronavirus to start as early as Monday.

“President Trump stop saying false things, will ya?” Biden said, without clarifying what exactly Trump said that was "false."

“People are worried they are really frightened, when these things don’t come through. He just exacerbates their concern. Stop saying false things you think make you sound like a hero and start putting the full weight of the federal government behind finding fast, safe and effective treatments,” Biden said.

Biden said he would like to be able to livestream events, have interactive tele-press conferences and broadcast interviews with network television.

“I would like to get in the position and we’re trying to work out so that the headquarters … to be able to accommodate my directly answering questions in front of a press that’s assigned to me,” he said. “We’ve hired a professional team to do that now. And excuse the expression that’s a little above my pay grade to know how to do that.”

Biden on Wednesday released a statement demanding Trump invoke the Defense Production Act, after Trump had already invoked the Defense Production Act. The act gives the federal government broad authority to direct private companies to meet the needs of the national defense.

"Biden has never had an original thought in his life and now he plans on attacking the President during a global pandemic," Cristina Laila wrote for Gateway Pundit on March 21.

Critics also pointed out that, when he was vice president under former President Barack Obama, Biden watched as China established dominance over the pharmaceutical sector Americans rely upon for vital medicines.

Meanwhile, Biden's coronavirus "plan" on a his campaign website links directly to a fundraising page.

The former vice president reportedly also using COVID-19 as a fundraising tool.

"On Friday, Biden’s campaign began aggressively portraying Biden as the man with a plan to deal with the virus," the Western Journal noted.

“In times of uncertainty, we need strong, steady, stable leadership. Read more about Joe Biden’s plan to combat the coronavirus outbreak and how to prepare for future global health threats,” his campaign tweeted.

"But when Twitter users got there, they found that instead of learning how Biden was going to help them, they were the ones asked to help Biden in terms of a donation to the campaign," the Western Journal noted. "Savvy users could spot the message in the upper right corner of the screen and click past the sales pitch to find out what Biden would do if elected in November. However, those who want to read the plan will be reminded that the campaign needs money, courtesy of a banner across the top of the screen."

Biden's plan supposes that the federal response to the 2014 Ebola panic and the 2009 H1N1 pandemic was enough to support being tried again. Trump has already poked a hole in that argument.

The president tweeted: "Sleepy Joe Biden was in charge of the H1N1 Swine Flu epidemic which killed thousands of people. The response was one of the worst on record. Our response is one of the best, with fast action of border closings & a 78% Approval Rating, the highest on record. His was lowest!"

Biden also insists he can do a better job of communicating than Trump. Observers said that is likely due to the fact that Biden would be dealing with a compliant and allied corporate media.

“Biden believes we must immediately put scientists and public health leaders front and center in communication with the American people in order to provide regular guidance and deliver timely public health updates, including by immediately establishing daily, expert-led press briefings,” the Biden plan said.

Free Press International