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Joe Biden attacks Trump for playing golf over Memorial Day weekend as death toll heads toward 100,000 in new ad

'The death toll is still rising. The president is playing golf,' says ad

Maya Oppenheim
Sunday 24 May 2020 12:50 BST
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Joe Biden attacks Trump for playing golf as death toll heads toward 100,000 in new ad

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Joe Biden has hit out at Donald Trump for playing golf on Memorial Day weekend as the coronavirus death toll continues to rise in the US to almost 100,000.

The former vice president unveiled a 30-second clip displaying Mr Trump playing a round of golf at his Virginia club on Saturday.

“Nearly 100,000 Americans have died,” says the ad which has garnered over 1.3 million views. “The death toll is still rising. The president is playing golf.”

The footage of Mr Trump playing golf is combined with stark videos of coronavirus patients being carried on stretchers and healthcare staff working on the frontline to battle Covid-19 upheaval.

According to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, America’s death toll is more than 97,000 and there have been 1.6 million confirmed cases of people with Covid-19 recorded.

Mr Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate, has previously criticised Mr Trump’s handling of the coronavirus emergency.

While Mr Trump frequently rebuked Barack Obama for playing too much golf, he has substantially outpaced his predecessor.

On Friday, Mr Trump announced he is classifying all sites of worship – including mosques, churches, and synagogues – “essential” during the Covid-19 emergency.

The president, who said he wants them to “open right now”, hit out at state leaders for allowing “liquor stores and abortion centres” to remain open during the coronavirus outbreak while concurrently shutting religious sites.

People who contract coronavirus in the US are at greater risk than those in the UK or Canada due to America not having a national health service.

Americans are at risk of running up bills for coronavirus treatment which force them to fork out tens of thousands of dollars. The situation is exacerbated by the fact many have lost their healthcare insurance due to job losses linked to the pandemic.

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