Yesterday, the country saw a split-screen of what real vs. failed leadership looks like. While President-elect Biden projected empathy, warned about the dire realities of the pandemic, and encouraged mitigation efforts, Trump falsely claimed credit for defeating the virus, even as it continues to surge and he falls short of his vaccine promises, and spent his time lying about his election defeat.

Trump falsely claimed credit for defeating the virus while Biden projected empathy, acknowledged reality, and urged people to wear masks.

New York Times: “The split-screen speeches beamed from the White House and the headquarters of the next administration in Wilmington, Del., could hardly have underscored the differences between the 45th and 46th presidents more starkly. Mr. Trump offered told-you-so triumphalism as he bragged about the ‘incredible,’ ‘amazing’ and ‘unprecedented’ development of vaccines for the coronavirus. Mr. Biden projected feel-your-pain empathy, urged resisters to wear masks and warned that ‘this mess’ would not end quickly.”

As he has done since losing the election, Trump used his “Vaccine Summit” to spread lies about the results instead of focusing on the pandemic.

Newsweek: “Trump Uses COVID Vaccine Summit to Pressure Republicans Over Election Outcome”

The Daily Beast: “But after a few minutes of touting the success of Operation Warp Speed, his address morphed into an unspooling of grievances over the election outcome as well as an unfounded assertion that the rising number COVID-19 cases across the country was, in fact, a ‘terrific’ development.”

The coronavirus continues its deadly surge across the country, and Trump’s own task force warned vaccines won’t reduce the spread until mid-2021.

NBC News: “The U.S. counts 222,211 Covid infections Tuesday, a new record”

New York Times: “Intensive Care Beds Are Nearing Capacity Across the Country, New Data Shows”

Associated Press: “US virus deaths hit record levels with the holidays ahead”

CNN: “White House task force warns states that vaccines will not reduce Covid spread until late spring”

The Trump administration has not launched its promised vaccine awareness campaign, and the U.S. will likely face shortages after the administration refused to purchase more doses when offered months ago.

NBC News: “Trump administration has yet to launch promised effort to get Americans to trust Covid-19 vaccines”

Politico: “The United States could be heading for a vaccine cliff this spring, with shortages forcing hundreds of millions of Americans to wait for shots amid intense global competition for limited doses.”