Joe Biden held his first press conference in 89 days in a gymnasium in his hometown on Tuesday.
The former vice president walked gingerly to the podium, wearing a black face mask which he removed before speaking to the half dozen journalists in attendance.
Biden, 77, immediately attacked President Trump for his handling of the coronavirus, saying Trump is “waving the white flag” and refusing to lead the country by mandating that everyone wear a mask or face covering.
Biden, who says he has not been tested for the virus, said, if he wins the election, he would ask Dr. Anthony Fauci to continue serving as the lead expert on the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden accused Trump of losing the war against the coronavirus.
“What happened? Now it’s almost July, and it seems like our wartime president has surrendered — ramped, er, waved the white flag and left the battlefield.”
At the conclusion of his speech, Biden took a few questions from reporters, including one question about increasing his public appearances, declaring he “can hardly wait” to debate Trump.
The Democratic nominee slammed Trump’s “cognitive capability,” saying, “This president is um — he talks about cognitive capability – he doesn’t seem to be cognitively aware of what’s going on.”
“You know the steps you’ve taken so far haven’t gotten the job done, Mr. President. Fix the shortage of PPE for our health care workers before you tee off another round of golf,” Biden said.
Biden slurred many words and seemed to lose his train of thought multiple times during the hour-long presser.
Still, his campaign says Biden is not suffering from senile dementia or mental decline.
