随着新冠肺炎疫情在美国持续蔓延，美国大选的各项竞选活动也受到了不同程度的影响。民主党总统竞选人伯尼•桑德斯(Bernie Sanders)开启直播“炉边谈话”和“数字集会”；另一位民主党总统竞选人、美国前副总统乔•拜登(Joe Biden)则建立了“虚拟市政厅”，通过视频向支持者和选民发表讲话。
在拜登3月23日发布的一则讲话视频中，他批评了总统特朗普对于美国疫情的应对不力，加剧了美国所面临的健康和经济危机。Joe Biden, former U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate on Monday delivered remarks from his home in Delaware in an effort to reignite his presidential campaign during the novel coronavirus outbreak.In his address, Biden blasted U.S. President Donald Trump for being slow to respond to the outbreak of the virus, which has worsened the health and economic crises the nation faces.A woman wears a mask in New York out of concern for the novel coronavirus outbreak. /AP拜登称，情报部门早在一月就发出了针对疫情的预警，但特朗普政府却一直声称疫情“在控制之下”、“被遏制住了”。此外，他还表示特朗普政府不仅对疫情预警不予重视，没有立即采取行动遏制病毒的传播，反而将病毒比作流感来误导民众，淡化病毒对美国人的威胁。Biden criticized the Trump administration for ignoring early warning signs about the novel coronavirus outbreak, as well as failing to take immediate action to curb the spread of the virus. "For too long, the warning signs were ignored. For too long, the administration said the threats were 'under control,' 'contained,' 'like the flu.' The president says no one saw this coming. Well, that's just not accurate," said Biden. Hospital workers by a tent test for the coronavirus disease at the Brooklyn hospital center in Brooklyn, New York. /Reuters
在讲话中，拜登呼吁特朗普尽快采取相应措施，“特朗普一直说自己是个战时总统，那就表现得像一个战时总统吧。”拜登表示联邦政府应该协调各种资源以帮助各州抗击疫情。同时他也呼吁特朗普应该尽快援引《国防安全生产》法案，指导美国制造业生产口罩、呼吸机等重要的医疗用品。During his speech, Biden implored Trump to "start acting like" the wartime president Trump claims to be."You know, we need to get in motion, get in motion today what we should have set in motion weeks ago. Any public health expert will tell you that in a crisis like this, you can't move too fast. You can only move too slowly."Biden urged Trump to use the full force of federal authority in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. He also called on the president to activate the authority of the Defense Production Act, which would mandate that private companies produce medical and safety equipment like ventilators and masks. “停止散播仇外恐惧。说实话。承担责任。做你的工作吧。”
此前，拜登还在推特上公开批评特朗普使用“中国病毒”这样的污名化字眼，指责特朗普是煽动种族歧视和仇恨以转移公众对其政府抗疫不力的批评。Previously, Biden also slammed Trump on Twitter for using racist rhetoric "Chinese virus" to distract the public's attention from his mismanagement of the novel coronavirus outbreak.除了拜登，美国一些州长们最近也纷纷向特朗普“开火”，批评特朗普及其领导的联邦政府应对疫情不力，未能及时采取有效措施。伊利诺伊州州长杰伊•罗伯特•普利兹克(Jay Robert Pritzker)曾批评特朗普政府准备不足、行动缓慢，所以导致疫情在3月份爆发。
An empty Santa Monica pier is seen in Santa Monica, California on March 23, 2020, as people are encouraged to stay at home to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. Robyn Beck / AFPApart from Biden, some state governors also showed their increasing disappointment with Trump and the federal government's response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Jay Robert Pritzker, governor of Illinois previously said the pandemic outbreak in the U.S. should be ascribed to the Trump administration's slow reaction to the COVID-19.针对普利兹克的批评，特朗普却在3月23日“怒发”推特，“伊利诺伊州州长和小部分其他州长，以及假新闻@CNN和MSDNC，不应该把自己的问题归咎于联邦政府。”
Responding to Pritzker's criticism, Trump tweeted on Monday that Pritzker, as well as some media outlets he disparaged as "fake news," should not blame the federal government.“你本可以采取行动保护美国人和伊利诺伊人，但是你浪费了几个月时间。你应该领导好全国，而不是就知道发脾气。我们需要的检测系统呢？我们需要的PPE（个人防护设备）呢？别天天发推特了，做你该做的工作！”
对此，普利兹克迅速进行回应，他在推特上驳斥特朗普“本可以采取行动，却浪费了几个月时间。”“请站起来，做个领导者吧。当你一直在抱怨假新闻的时候，新冠肺炎已经席卷整个美国。普利兹克和其他人已经填补了这个国家领导人的空白。要么领导，要么让位。”
芝加哥市长洛丽•莱特富特(Lori Lightfoot)也回应称“当你一直在抱怨假新闻的时候，新冠肺炎已经席卷整个美国。”Trump's Twitter post soon provoked the anger from Pritzker and other local officials. Pritzker tweeted to refute Trump's words, saying the president "wasted precious months" and failed to take action to protect Americans. Lori Lightfoot, mayor of Chicago, also fired back, criticizing Trump's rhetoric and leadership in the crisis. "While you have been yammering about hoaxes and fake news, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit all over America," Lightfoot wrote on Twitter. 马里兰州州长拉里•霍根（Larry Hogan）3月23日在接受NBC采访时直言特朗普及其领导的联邦政府应该在疫情防控充分发挥作用。霍根表示应对这样一场灾难，需要的是联邦政府和各州政府的通力合作，而不是各州的孤军奋战。During an NBC interview on Monday, Larry Hogan, governor of Maryland, also urged Trump and the federal government to take the lead in the battle against COVID-19. "It's going to take all of us. Not only the local governments, the cities like the mayor, and the state governments, all the governors, the federal government," said Hogan.