Former vice president and Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden, seen arriving to give a speech about the coronavirus response on March 12, spoke with President Trump about the crisis on Monday. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump and his likely Democratic opponent Joe Biden spoke about the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic on Monday, according to a source familiar with the phone call.
No additional details about the duration or content of the call were immediately available.
The context for this conversation goes back to comments that Trump’s advisor Kellyanne Conway made on Fox News last week.
“I think it’s really disappointing to have President Obama’s number two, who apparently doesn’t talk much to him, out there criticizing, instead of saying, ‘Hey, here’s what we did that we thought was effective,'” Conway said on Wednesday. “Why doesn’t Vice President Biden call the White House today and offer some support?”
Later when Trump was asked about the possibility of accepting a call from Biden, he said he would “absolutely” take a call from the former vice president. Earlier on Monday, Trump took to Twitter and criticized Biden for not yet calling him.
Joe Biden wanted the date for the Democrat National Convention moved to a later time period. Now he wants a “Virtual” Convention, one where he doesn’t have to show up. Gee, I wonder why? Also, what ever happened to that phone call he told the Fake News he wanted to make to me?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 6, 2020
Biden, who has been hunkered down at his home in Delaware, has been holding virtual press conferences and round tables about the pandemic. “Donald Trump is not to blame for the coronavirus,” he often says, “but he does bear responsibility for our response.”
