Trump tells supporters: Biden would surrender their ‘future to the virus’

US President Donald Trump has warned that his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, would “listen to the scientists” if elected to the White House and impose harsh lockdowns to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Addressing a rally in Carson City in Nevada on Sunday night, Trump told his supporters that Biden would surrender their “future to the virus,” saying: “He’s gonna want to lockdown.”

“He’ll listen to the scientists,” he added in a mocking tone.

“If I listened totally to the scientists, we would right now have a country that would be in a massive depression instead — we’re like a rocket ship. Take a look at the numbers,” he added.

Trump has downplayed the importance of lockdowns in reducing the spread of the coronavirus, even after he contracted the disease.

According to Johns Hopkins University data, the coronavirus pandemic has led to more than 8.1 million cases in America and more than 219,000 deaths.

The US president, who was hospitalized with the disease for three nights in early October, has been crisscrossing the country for campaigning as he trails Biden in public opinion polls.

Trump’s rallies draw thousands of supporters in close quarters, with many not wearing masks despite federal coronavirus guidelines.

New COVID-19 infections have been rising fast in the United States, with a total of 48,210 new cases reported on Sunday. The country had reported more than 69,400 new virus cases on Friday, up from 46,000 a month ago.

At least 8,154,594 coronavirus cases have been identified in the US as of Sunday night, killing at least 219,674 Americans, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Ten US states, including Colorado, New Mexico, North Carolina and Wisconsin, reported their highest single-day tallies of new Covid-19 infections, as experts say a dangerous fall surge of COVID-19 infections is underway in the United States.

On Sunday, Trump also criticized Democratic governors, accusing them of “keeping their states closed” with lockdowns to mitigate the spread of the virus.

A spokesperson for Biden’s campaign said Trump’s claims are “tellingly out of touch and the polar opposite of reality.”

“Trump crashed the strong economy he inherited from the Obama-Biden Administration by lying about and attacking the science, and layoffs are rising. Meanwhile, Joe Biden would create millions more jobs than Trump,” Andrew Bates said.

Trump also said on Sunday that “the Christmas season will be canceled” if his opponent wins in November.

“The Christmas season will be cancelled. Look, remember I said we’re going to bring back Christmas? The name. Remember? We brought it back. Remember?” he asked.

"They’d say, 'Have a great season.' I say, 'No, I don’t want to have a great season. I want to say 'merry Christmas.' Say 'merry Christmas.' Now, they’re all saying 'merry Christmas,' “he added.

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