“Until this president faces what’s going on in this country, the economy will remain at risk,” Biden said during a live-stream address from his home in Delaware.
“Today’s report is positive news, and I’m thankful for it. But make no mistake: we’re still in a deep, deep job hole because Donald Trump has so badly bungled the response to the coronavirus,” the former vice president added.
New data released by the Labor Department found the U.S. added 4.8 million jobs last month, which sent the unemployment rate down to 11.1 percent. It was the second month of gains after a loss of more than 20 million in April. Trump celebrated Thursday’s report as a sign the economy was “roaring back, coming back extremely strong.”
But the report also showed that 1.4 million people filed for unemployment claims for the first time last week as the push to reopen the economy is on the rocks. Dozens of states are now halting their plan to lift lockdown restrictions as they experience major spikes in coronavirus cases. Arizona, California and Texas are some of the largest states stopping to take more caution in the reopening process.
“There’s no victory to be celebrated when we’re still down nearly 15 million jobs and the pandemic is getting worse, not better,” Biden said in his virtual address. He cited the record-breaking 50,000 new cases of COVID-19 nationwide reported on July 1.
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign for comment on Biden’s remarks but did not receive a response prior to publication.
Trump also appeared to take a swing at Biden during the White House’s “Spirit of America” small business showcase on Thursday. While he didn’t mention the vice president by name, he criticized his plan to end this administration’s tax cuts.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Biden pledged during a call with campaign donors that he would reverse “the bulk of Trump’s $2 trillion tax cuts, and a lot of you may not like that, but I’m going to close loopholes like capital gains and stepped-up basis.”
Trump said during the showcase on Thursday that next year would be a historic one for the economy “unless someone comes along and says, ‘Let’s raise taxes on everybody.’”
“You’ll have a crash like you’ve never seen before. You put the wrong person in office and you’ll see things that you would not have believed are possible,” Trump said, adding it would be a “terrible, terrible sight.”
