Vaccine Rhetoric Dominates Trump, Biden Election Sparring

Bloomberg: Trump Hints At Vaccine ‘Surprise’ As Biden Demands Transparency
President Donald Trump hinted Monday that the U.S. could approve a coronavirus vaccine in October, ahead of the November election, as Joe Biden demanded transparency from the government as it studies the shots. “This could’ve taken two or three years, and instead it’s going to be -- going to be done in a very short period of time,” Trump said during a news conference in which he criticized Biden for his skepticism that the FDA is operating free of political pressure. (Epstein, 9/7)

USA Today: Trump Attacks Biden On Vaccines In Labor Day News Conference
President Donald Trump used a Labor Day press conference to continue to push back on allegations he disparaged members of the military and to attack his Democratic opponents over the timing of a potential coronavirus vaccine. Speaking from the North Portico of the White House, Trump echoed many of the same themes he has raised on the campaign trail – repeatedly criticizing Democratic nominee Joe Biden and defending his record on the economy and the COVID-19 pandemic. (Fritze and Jackson, 9/7)

The Hill: Trump Blasts Biden, Harris For 'Anti-Vaccine Rhetoric' 
Biden and Harris, Trump said, "should immediately apologize for the reckless anti-vaccine rhetoric that they are talking right now, talking about endangering lives. It undermines science, and what happens is all of the sudden you'll have this incredible vaccine and because of that fake rhetoric, it's a political rhetoric ... that's all that is." The Biden campaign responded on Twitter, pointing to a MSNBC reporter who fact-checked the president's comments and pointed out that Harris was not questioning the reliability of vaccines, but rather the president's rhetoric. (Bowden, 9/7)

Politico: Trump Slams Harris For Caution On Vaccine Push 
President Donald Trump on Monday suggested Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is sabotaging a prospective coronavirus vaccine for political ends. He argued that his political foes are using the unprecedented rapid speed of vaccine research to attack him, creating doubts that may mean people are afraid to take it. "Okay. Let's disparage the vaccine," he said at a Labor Day press conference. "That's so bad for this country. So bad for the world to even say that." (Luthi, 9/7)

Reuters: Trump Calls Biden 'Stupid,' Demands Apology For Challenging Him On Vaccines 
Republican President Donald Trump, accused by Joe Biden of putting lives at risk in his handling of the coronavirus, on Monday called his Democratic rival “stupid” and demanded an apology for what Trump called anti-vaccine rhetoric. Trailing in national opinion polls as the U.S. death toll from the virus approaches 190,000, Trump unleashed a broad attack against both the former vice president, his opponent in the Nov. 3 election, and Biden’s running mate, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris. (Mason, 9/7)

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The Hill: Trump Maintains US 'Rounding The Turn' On Coronavirus 
President Trump declared Friday that the United States is “rounding the turn” on the novel coronavirus, projecting optimism about the progress on a vaccine and the economic recovery even as health experts warn of the potential for another wave of the disease in the fall during flu season. At a news conference, Trump touted the jobs report released Friday showing that the U.S. economy added 1.4 million jobs in August and the unemployment rate dropped to 8.4 percent. He called the economic recovery “unprecedented” and described it as taking the shape of a “super V.” (Chalfant, 9/4)

Forbes: Trump Still Has No Health Plan As Campaign Enters Home Stretch
Despite repeated promises to produce a healthcare plan, Donald Trump hasn’t done so and it’s hurting him in his presidential campaign against Democrat Joe Biden, polls and healthcare analysts indicate. A month ago, Trump said he planned to introduce a new healthcare plan, saying: “we're signing a health-care plan within two weeks, a full and complete health-care plan.” And he has said that several times, dating back to his plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, as he said less than a month after he was inaugurated in 2017. (Japsen, 9/6)