Former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday called for President Trump to reopen state health care exchanges operated under the Affordable Care Act.
The statement came as Trump traveled to Arizona and noted the state’s governor, Doug Ducey (R), had been among the figures calling for Trump to reopen the ObamaCare exchanges. The campaign slammed the president as being unable to “mitigate the spread of this virus or keep American families safe” amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed thousands of Americans.
“Unemployment claims in Arizona have exceeded 250,000 — all while President Trump doubled down on efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act, strip millions of Americans of health insurance, and gut protections for those with pre-existing conditions. That isn’t leadership,” Biden said in the press release.
“President Trump will try to paper over his administration’s failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic when he travels today to Arizona — but nothing can cover up how he failed to prepare our country for this pandemic and his slow response,” the presumptive Democratic nominee continued. “I stand with Arizonans — and Americans across the country — in urging President Trump to reopen enrollment for the Affordable Care Act exchanges.”
Trump visited Arizona Tuesday to view efforts aimed at fighting the coronavirus. The state is home to a competitive Senate race and is also seen as a potential pickup for Biden’s presidential campaign.
The travel is Trump’s first since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., which has resulted in the president largely remaining at the White House. He previously held a rally in the state in February.