Biden slams Trump visit to Nevada as ‘reckless’

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Saturday slammed President Donald Trump’s “reckless” decision to hold a rally in Reno, the venue for which had to be changed because the event breached local Covid-19 restrictions.

The Republican incumbent will speak Saturday evening in the city in Nevada, a crucial swing state ahead of the November 3 election where Trump is seeking a second term.

“President Trump can’t hide from the truth,” Biden said in a statement.

“Months after admitting to misleading the American public about the pandemic, he still has no plan to contain Covid-19, a virus that has killed more than 1,400 Nevadans, afflicted more than 72,000 residents and devastated the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of workers across the Silver State.

“Nevadans don’t need more bluster from the President, and don’t need his reckless rallies that ignore the realities of Covid-19 and endanger public health,” Biden added.

Trump had originally sought to speak at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport, but local officials warned the event would violate the state’s ban on gatherings of more than 50 people, aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

The president instead booked a space at the Minden-Tahoe Airport, a smaller airport 43 miles (69 kilometers) south of the original venue.

As of Saturday, the coronavirus had infected 6,452,607 Americans and killed 193,177, making the country by far the hardest-hit in the world for both tolls.

The continued spread of the pandemic, despite local and state-wide health and safety measures, have driven many events — including much of the US presidential campaign — into a virtual format.

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