Fayetteville, Nov 2: President Donald Trump has said that the US will never forget what China did to it by failing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic which he said has devastated America’s economy.
Addressing election rallies on Sunday, Trump said America was on track of its economic revival and was doing well, but it was hit by a virus that came from China.
“We had the greatest economy in the history of our country. And then we got hit by the China plague, which we’re not going to forget,” he said.
“So we closed it up. We closed it up and then we opened it up and we saved. I’ll tell you we saved 2 million lives….But what happened with that shouldn’t have been…We can never forget what China did to us, we can never forget,” Trump said.
Trump has repeatedly blamed China for the coronavirus pandemic which originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year and accused Beijing of suppressing the details of the contagion.
The US is the worst-affected country from the virus with over 2,31,000 deaths and over 9 million infections. The pandemic devastated the country’s economy, resulting in the loss of millions of jobs.
Throughout the day, Trump accused his Democratic challenger Joe Biden of being soft on China and alleged that Beijing wants Biden to win the November 3 presidential election.
The president slammed his 77-year-old Democratic opponent calling him as one with low energy or “sleepy”.
“They dream about ‘sleepy’ Joe Biden. They own ‘sleepy’ Joe. You know that,” the 74-year-old Trump told a cheering crowd in Georgia.
“China goes to bed every night and they say, please let it be sleepy, Joe. They would own the United States,” Trump said at another election rally in North Carolina.
In Georgia, he urged his supporters to think about what China has done to the US. “We had the greatest economy seven months ago and then we had the plague. That’s not good. Think of what China has done to the world. Think of it now,” he said.
He rued that people have been forced to wear masks due to this pandemic. “Just think, you know, I see people that come in, they’re wrapped up in masks. Think of what China has done to the world,” he said.
“While they managed the pandemic inside their country, they let it out whole over the world. You can never forget it, We can never forget it,” said the president.
Relations between Washington and Beijing have spiralled downward since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. The two countries have also sparred over trade issues, a new national security law in Hong Kong, restrictions on American journalists, treatment of Uyghurs Muslims and security measures in Tibet.
During each of his rallies, Trump gave a contrast between him and Biden.
“Biden is the candidate of rioters, looters, arsonists, gun-grabbers, flag-burners, Marxists, lobbyists and special interests. I am the candidate of farmers, factory workers, police officers, and hard-working, law-abiding patriots of every race, religion and creed!” said the president.
“Biden will terminate school choice, eliminate charter schools, defund religious schools, ban prayer in public schools, indoctrinate your children with Anti-American lies, and force you to subsidize extreme late-term abortion. We believe that every child is a Sacred Gift from God!” he said.
Trump alleged that for decades, “Biden let other countries rip them off and cheat America blind.”
“The only people who’ve benefited from his policies are himself and his family. He shows up every 4 years, and then goes back to DC and caters to his special interests. My only special interest is YOU,” he asserted.
On Sunday, Trump addressed five rallies in the battleground states of Wisconsin, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
He is scheduled to address five more rallies on Monday, the last day of his campaigning. Voting is scheduled for Tuesday. (PTI)