Competing events highlight Trump, Biden's different approaches to pandemic

Which made it all the more jarring when he popped up via video message on the jumbo screen at a health-related event with President-elect Joe Biden in Wilmington, Del., at the same time.

"I believe, as you do, that in the fight against the pandemic, we must lead with science," said Fauci, who for months has largely been sidelined by Trump over his implicit critiques of the president's efforts to play down the threat of a virus that has killed at least 284,000 Americans.

Fauci's remarks were pretaped, and he explained that he was not able to attend Biden's introduction of his new health team - on which Fauci will serve as Biden's "chief medical adviser" - because he was participating in a ceremony for a colleague at the National Institutes of Health who won the Nobel Prize for medicine.

But his appearance was another stark illustration of the discomforting split screen taking place as Trump seeks to maintain power by leveling baseless accusations of voter fraud while Biden works to assemble his administration - all against the backdrop of a global health and economic crisis.

Since losing the election, Trump has sought to undermine Biden's transition. Trump reportedly has told aides he is considering holding a rally in Florida on Inauguration Day to announce his intention to run again in 2024 and draw attention away from Biden.

The competing events on Tuesday foreshadowed such a scenario.

It is not clear which of the two men first scheduled their events for Tuesday afternoon. Biden aides said the health-care team rollout was being planned since last week. The White House had listed the vaccine summit on week-ahead guidance to reporters on Sunday. In any case, the effect of the simultaneous appearances was to offer a contrasting message about the state of the pandemic, further muddying public perceptions.

 

Trump boasted of a vaccine whose imminent distribution will "quickly and dramatically reduce deaths and hospitalizations. And within a short period of time, I think we want to get back to normal." Yet even as the federal government is preparing to authorize a vaccine developed by Pfizer, severe supply and distribution challenges remain amid reports that the Trump administration declined an opportunity to buy 100 million addition doses of the company's vaccine last summer - creating a potential shortfall in the spring.

Biden and his aides, by contrast, expressed optimism but made clear that the road ahead will require more diligence and, perhaps, sacrifice from the public.

"A key piece of our ongoing work is communicating consistently with the American people," Fauci said in his video message to Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. "Whether it's maintaining social distancing and not congregating indoors, or the hundred-day challenge you described on masking, or to get as many people vaccinated as possible - these actions are bold but doable and essential to help the public avoid unnecessary risks."

Fauci also appeared via video during the White House summit, ahead of Trump's appearance. The president did not mention him while thanking numerous aides during his remarks. Two senior administration officials said some government scientists were wary of attending the White House event, worried it could come off as propaganda.

Executives from Pfizer and Moderna, the companies seeking federal government approval for their coronavirus vaccines this month, turned down White House invitations to participate, according to reports.

Trump has, without evidence, accused the companies of withholding news of success in vaccine trials until after the election in an effort to undermine his reelection chances. Company representatives have stated they have sought to avoid politicizing the vaccine issue.

 

In his remarks, the president boasted about Operation Warp Speed, his administration's program to help develop and distribute a vaccine in record time.

"It's a monumental national achievement," Trump said. "Before Operation Warp Speed, the typical time could be infinity. We're getting thing done at a level nobody has ever seen before. We have the gold standard of vaccines done in less than nine months."

Yet as Trump took a victory lap, he contributed again to what experts have called an "infodemic" of falsehoods and disinformation that has hampered efforts to control the spread of the virus. When a reporter asked why no Biden aides had been invited to participate in the summit, Trump repeated his baseless assertions that he deserves to be declared winner of the election because of rampant fraud.

Election officials in the states, including some Republicans, have said there is no such evidence.

"We're going to have to see who the next administration is because we won in those swing states," Trump said. "Hopefully, the next administration will be the Trump administration because you can't steal hundreds of thousands of votes. You can't have fraud and deception and all of the things that they did."

Trump also was asked why he is holding the traditional White House holiday parties this month despite guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to limit indoor gatherings and curtain travel amid the spike in virus infections. Masks have not been required, according to guests.

"I would say that I look out at the audience at those parties, and we have a lot of people wearing masks, and I think that's a good thing," Trump said before moving on to another question.

In Wilmington, Del., the Biden event was proceeding with a more sober tone. Concluding his videotaped message, Fauci, 79, called the pandemic the toughest public health crisis he has dealt with in his 36 years at the helm of NIH's infectious-disease division.

"The road ahead will not be easy," he said. "We have got a lot of hard and demanding work to do in the next year. But as we have done through previous crises, I know we can get through this pandemic together as a nation."