Trump dismisses Biden as 'not competent' to lead US
President Donald Trump assailed likely opponent Joe Biden as "not competent" to lead america, speaking as polls over the weekend showed deepening voter disenchantment along with his own handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
"He's shot, he's mentally shot," Trump said about Biden in a wide-ranging interview with "Fox News Sunday."
He said that if Biden is elected on Nov 3, he'll "destroy this country."
Facing the multiple challenges of a spreading pandemic, racial unrest and a struggling economy, Trump made several unfounded or highly speculative accusations against the former vice president, saying Biden would "triple your taxes" and "defund the authorities."
He added broadly that "religion will be gone," referring to Democratic officials banning large church services to stem the virus spread.
Asked whether he would accept the election cause November, even if he loses, Trump echoed his position of 2016, saying, "I have to see ... I'm not likely to just say yes."
The interview, that was taped beforehand, came as new polling results showed support for Biden increasing as doubts about Trump's handling of the pandemic grow amid a resurgence of infections in lots of states.
Interviewer Chris Wallace told the president a new Fox thoughts and opinions poll showed Biden with a substantial lead over Trump not merely on his capability to manage the pandemic (with a 17-point edge) and handle racial unrest (by 21 points), but even - by a single point - on handling the economy, long a Trump strong point.
And a fresh Washington Post-ABC News poll has Biden leading Trump among registered voters nationwide by a resounding 15-point margin, 55-to-40 per cent.
Trump dismissed such polling as "fake," saying White House surveys show him winning both nationally and in key swing states.
He repeatedly pummeled Biden, who has kept a comparatively low profile amid the restraints imposed by the pandemic.
Trump claimed that the Democrat wished to "defund the authorities" - a battle cry of some anti-racist protesters - and insisted that such language was in a Biden policy document, though he was unable to produce it when challenged by Wallace.
As Trump, who's 74, repeatedly questioned his rival's mental acuity, Wallace asked him directly if he thought Biden, 77, was senile.
"I don't want to state that," Trump replied. "I say he's not competent to be president."
He questioned whether the Democrat could pass a cognitive ability test that Trump said he previously "aced," and said the former vice president would fall apart under tough questioning.
"Let Biden sit through an interview like this, he'll be on the floor crying for Mommy. He'll say, 'Mommy, Mommy, please take me home.'"
Trump again defended his handling of the pandemic, claiming that "we will be the envy of the world" on testing; and, of his early prediction that the virus would someday disappear, said, "I'll be right eventually."
He again opposed any national mandate for mask-wearing, saying, "I'd like people to have a specific freedom."
Biden responded on Sunday, saying in a statement focused on the pandemic that "it's long overdue for President Trump to hear somebody apart from himself in how exactly to fight this virus, because after six straight months of deadly mismanagement it really is spiraling even more uncontrollable.
"Mr. President, your ignorance is not a virtue or a sign of your strength - it's undercutting our response to this unprecedented crisis at every turn," he added.
Asked by Wallace about statistics showing American blacks are twice as likely to be shot and killed by police as whites, Trump replied, "Many whites are killed also. You have to say that."
And he equated those that fly the Confederate flag with those saying that "Black Lives Matter," adding, "It's freedom of speech."
Trump again explained his opposition to renaming US military bases named after Confederate generals - even following the military supported the theory.
"I don't care what the military says," the president said.
"We're going to name it after the Reverend Al Sharpton?" he asked rhetorically, referring to a prominent African-American civil rights leader.
On other subjects, Trump said the economy was "doing perfectly," even while millions remain jobless, with some states reimposing lockdowns. The currency markets, he said, was near record highs. - AFP
