WASHINGTON, April 7 ― President Donald Trump said he had a “very friendly” conversation with Joe Biden yesterday after the Democratic presidential front-runner called to discuss the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Trump said their conversation lasted about 15 minutes.
“We had a really wonderful, warm conversation,” Trump said during his news briefing on the outbreak. “He gave me his point of view, and I fully understood that, and we just had a very friendly conversation.”
Biden, who is seeking his party's nomination to face Trump in the November 3 election, “shared several suggestions for actions the Administration can take now to address the ongoing coronavirus pandemic,” Biden's deputy campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield, said in a statement about the unusual direct talks between the White House rivals.
She added it was “a good call.”
Biden has been delivering near-daily criticism of the president's handling of the coronavirus crisis in interviews and campaign appearances.
The former vice president has said Trump should act with more urgency to marshal federal resources to help state governors respond to the highly contagious respiratory disease, including using presidential authority to boost domestic manufacturing of medical equipment in short supply.
The nationwide death toll from the virus reached 10,674 and the number of known US infections surpassed 360,000 yesterday even as the governors of New York and New Jersey pointed to tentative signs that the coronavirus outbreak was starting to plateau. ― Reuters
