Adding another item to their election year list of grievances about President Donald Trump, the candidates for the Democratic Party nomination have stepped up their criticism of the White House response to the Coronavirus, arguing it is emblematic of what they charge is the President's haphazard method of governing.
"I am deeply concerned not just by the rise of cases of Coronavirus worldwide, but by the inadequate and incompetent response we have seen from Donald Trump and his administration," said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
"He has done an absolutely terrible job of responding," Tom Steyer said of the President at a campaign stop on Wednesday in Georgetown, South Carolina.
"He is incompetent," added Steyer, as Democrats blasted the President for proposing cuts at the Centers for Disease Control.
"The Trump administration is absolutely bungling the response," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), as she accused the President of 'putting our public health and our economy at risk.'
In a CNN televised town hall on Wednesday night in Charleston, Mike Bloomberg joined in ridiculing the White House response.
"Number one, he fired the pandemic team two years ago," Bloomberg said. "Number two, he's been defunding Centers for Disease Control. So, we don't have the experts in place that we need."
The comments came as Bloomberg has already put up a campaign ad saying that he would be the perfect politician to handle such a crisis.
In a separate CNN town hall, Joe Biden said the U.S. needs to challenge the Chinese more on how the government is handling the situation.
"I would not be taking China's word for it," Biden said. “I just hope the President gets on the same page as the scientists."
Asked about the President putting Vice President Mike Pence in charge of the Coronavirus response, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said there might have been better choices.
“I would think, usually, you might put a medical professional in charge,” Klobuchar said to laughter from the audience at a CNN town hall.
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