Joe Biden Demands Trump Invoke Defense Production Act – Minutes After President Does

Joe Biden continues to lead just a few minutes behind.

The former vice president issued a demand on Wednesday that President Trump invoke the Defense Production Act related to coronavirus recovery products.

Biden’s plan says to “prioritize and immediately increase domestic production of any critical medical equipment required to respond to this crisis — such as the production of ventilators and associated training to operate — by invoking the Defense Production Action.”

biden sends out a statement demanding trump invoke the Defense Production Act minutes after trump…invokes the Defense Production Act pic.twitter.com/D2R0EnoBVg

— Joe Gabriel Simonson (@SaysSimonson) March 18, 2020

“This action must be built on forecasted demand, using the best modeling currently available for negative scenarios,” he wrote.

But just minutes prior, Trump did just that.

The Hill reported:

President Trump announced Wednesday he will invoke the Defense Production Act, which would allow the administration to force American industry to ramp up production of medical supplies that are in short supply in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

“It can do a lot of good things if we need it,” Trump said during a White House press conference.

Just days ago, Biden seemed to borrow heavily from Trump’s plan to combat the Chinese virus.

Breitbart News’s Haris Alic reported March 12:

Many of the proposals Biden suggested for combatting the virus were, in fact, already central to the Trump administration’s efforts.

For instance, Biden’s plan calls for “no efforts” to be spared in getting private laboratories and universities to help test for the virus. The suggestion mirrors a move the Trump administration took in February in ordering the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow hundreds of academic hospitals and private laboratories to start testing for the coronavirus.

Similarly, the former vice president’s plan argues in favor of a federal relief effort for small businesses negatively impacted by the pandemic. The idea is identical to one Trump, himself, proposed on Wednesday, while addressing the nation in primetime. Trump’s version, which has been presented to Congress in the form of a $50 billion appropriation for low-interest loans to small businesses, includes detailed requirements for cost, eligibility, and implementation. Biden’s proposal, on the other hand, is vague in terms of cost, only stating the former vice president would push for the creation of a small-business loan program upon taking office.

Read other examples from the full piece here.

Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @KyleOlson4.