More people may die’ if Trump keeps blocking transition, Biden says

Reuters | Washington

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

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 signalled 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 labour 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.