10/19/20
President Donald Trump sought to insult former Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday by saying that his Democratic opponent would listen to scientists if elected president. Amid a global pandemic that’s claimed more than 219,000 lives in the U.S., Trump mocked Biden during a campaign rally in Carson City, Nevada, which around 5,000 mostly unmasked supporters attended. “He’ll listen to the scientists,” Trump continued. “If I listened totally to the scientists, we would right now have a country that would be in a massive depression, instead of, we’re like a rocket ship. Take a look at the numbers.”
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump has dismissed and disputed science, sent mixed messaging to the public, ignored his own government’s guidance, feuded with public health experts and mocked others for following the rules ― even after he and dozens of people in his circle tested positive. To date, the U.S. has the highest COVID-19 case count and death toll of any country in the world, and the rates of new infections and deaths continue to climb.