United States (US) President Donald Trump and Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden took rhetorical swipes at each other on Monday as the presidential race entered its traditional homestretch on the U.S. Labor Day holiday.
Trump described Biden, whom he trails in national polls, as a threat to the economy and "stupid," while Biden took aim at Trump`s reported disparaging of fallen troops.
At a White House news conference, Trump said: "Biden and his very liberal running mate (Kamala Harris), the most liberal person in Congress by the way - is not a competent person, in my opinion, would destroy this country and would destroy this economy."
He also called Biden "stupid." Trump has frequently referred to the former vice president as "Sleepy Joe."
Trump also said that Biden and Vice President nominee Kamala Harris "must apologise" for the "reckless anti-vaccine rhetoric.
"Biden is a stupid person--you know that," Trump told reporters at the White House. "The United States has experienced the lowest case fatality rate than any major country in the world and we are an absolute leader in every way. Under my leadership, we would produce a vaccine in record time. (They) should apologise for spreading the anti-vaccine rhetoric that they are talking about right now," Trump continued.
.He added, "It undermines science. What`s happening is all of a sudden you have this incredible vaccine and because of that fake rhetoric -- it`s political rhetoric... because they now see that we have done an incredible job and in speed, as nobody has seen before. They will say anything-it is so dangerous for our country."
These remarks come after the California Senator said that she doesn`t trust Trump over the vaccine availability."I will say that I would not trust Donald Trump and it would have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever he`s talking about. I would not take his word," CNN reported quoting Harris.
Trump further went on the attack and said that his Biden wants to "surrender the country to the virus".
"Biden`s plan for the `ChinaVirus` is to shut down the entire US economy. He is going totally rely upon somebody to walk up and say, `Yes sir, it is time to shut it down.` He`d be laying off 1000s of workers," he added.
Meanwhile, with the coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest over racism and police brutality commanding attention in recent months, Biden is seeking to maintain his edge by painting the Republican president as an ineffectual leader who thrives on chaos and has left the working class behind.
Trump plans to visit North Carolina, Florida, Michigan, and Pennsylvania later in the week, all considered crucial to both candidates` chances of victory.
(With agency inputs)
