Fox News anchor Chris Wallace pressed Biden campaign senior policy advisor Jake Sullivan on whether President Donald Trump’s January travel ban to China “saved thousands of lives.”
Wallace introduced the topic on Sunday morning’s “Fox News Sunday” by playing a clip of Biden seeming to criticized the travel ban as “xenophobia” the same day Trump introduced it.
“Biden denies that he was talking that day about the travel restrictions that the president had just imposed,” Wallace said. “Are we to believe it was just a coincidence, that he was talking about xenophobia the day that the president announced travel restrictions on China?”
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“Well, first of all, Chris, independent fact-checkers including Politifact have looked at the claim that Joe Biden was opposed to the China travel restrictions and they have deemed that claim false,” Sullivan responded. “It’s not a coincidence Joe Biden was talking about Donald Trump’s record from the beginning of demonizing Chinese-Americans, of giving names to this virus, of raising questions about whether we should trust Asian-Americans.”
Sullivan insisted that Biden was saying such bans “can slow the virus, but they can’t stop the virus.”
Biden pressed back by asking why it took Biden “so long” to say he agreed with the ban.
“And would you agree that the president moving so much faster, January 31st, to impose travel restrictions when Biden didn’t formally come out in support of the travel restrictions on China until April 3rd, that Trump’s actions saved thousands of lives?” he asked.
“First of all, Chris, the virus was already in the United States by the time that Donald Trump imposed those restrictions,” Sullivan responded.
“I’m asking you a specific question,” Wallace pressed. “I’m asking you a specific question. Why did it take Biden two months to approve the travel restrictions?” (RELATED: ‘The Five’ Panel Explodes After Juan Williams Refuses To Give Trump Credit For Chinese Travel Ban)
“Well, first, it didn’t take him two months,” said Sullivan. “In a speech on March 12th Joe Biden said the travel restrictions can slow the virus, but they can’t stop the virus. His whole point was the only way long-term for us to get this virus under control is for the president to stand up and do his job here at home where the virus was circulating.”