'I think we're seeing the start of a botched reopening': Al Gore attacks Trump's coronavirus response

Tens of thousands will die unnecessarily, former vice president warns

Al Gore has attacked Donald Trump for overseeing a “botched reopening” of the United States which will cause the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans.

The former vice president said Mr Trump was selfishly trying to re-energise the economy in order to boost his re-election efforts later this year.

“It seems as if he may be recklessly rolling the dice hoping that he can goose the economy just enough in the third quarter of this year to enhance his re-election prospects,” Mr Gore told CNN.

“I think that we are seeing the start of a botched reopening.”

The president was engaging in “magical thinking”, hoping Covid-19 would miraculously disappear so lockdown restrictions can be swiftly relaxed, Mr Gore added.

Then he will try to “divert the blame for the extra tens of thousands of Americans who the doctors tell us will die as a result of this”, the Democrat statesman grimly predicted.

Mr Trump has sporadically called for states to lift their coronavirus lockdowns over the past weeks and in recent days has even admitted he expected more people to die as a result.

“There’ll be more death,” he told ABC News. “It’s possible there will be some because you won’t be locked into an apartment or a house. We can’t sit in the house for the next three years.”

Some states, notably Georgia, have already begun allowing businesses, including cinemas and restaurants, to reopen. There have also been growing protest movements, often organised by right-wing libertarian groups, against the lockdown.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has produced a detailed report guiding state officials for how to safely and gradually reopen, but the White House has blocked its publication.

Mr Gore, who was just a handful of votes in Florida from claiming the presidency himself in 2000, told CNN Mr Trump had failed as the nation’s leader.

“Honestly, he has failed as president. Particularly on this challenge. The warnings were ignored. And then, he failed to mobilise the resources of the federal government to straighten out this testing catastrophe. And now, I think we are in grave danger.”

Instead of taking responsibility for guiding America through this crisis, Mr Trump has sought to shift the blame to the Chinese or even Barack Obama, Mr Gore said, adding that Trump should reach out beyond his political base and show empathy with those who are suffering and grieving.

“It is unfathomable to me – and I’m sorry to get wound up – but I see what he’s doing and it is the complete opposite of what the United States of America needs in the presidency right now,” Mr Gore concluded.