Here's Fact-Checking Claims of Joe Biden Calling Donald Trump ‘Xenophobic’ During the COVID Crisis

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe Biden's criticism of then-president Donald Trump's response took center stage, with the latter being accused of 'xenophobia' by the Democrat. This charged exchange, centered on Biden's use of the term, became a focal point in the broader conversation about pandemic management.

On February 1, 2020, just one day after the Trump administration announced travel restrictions on Chinese citizens, Biden criticized the President, stating on Twitter, "We are in the midst of a crisis with the coronavirus. We need to lead the way with science—not Donald Trump’s record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear-mongering." This sparked an argument between the two candidates, with Trump claiming that Biden called him 'xenophobic' for enacting these travel restrictions.

On March 26, Trump claimed on Sean Hannity’s Fox News prime-time show, "I had Biden calling me xenophobic. He called me a racist because he felt it was a racist thing to stop people from China coming in." This narrative became a focal point in Trump's defense of his administration's actions.

A closer look, however, reveals a nuanced and complex narrative. According to the Biden campaign, as reported by PolitiFact, the accusation of xenophobia was not directly related to China's travel restrictions. Instead, Biden's use of the term was seemingly part of a broader critique of Trump's approach to the pandemic, which was labeled as 'hysterical xenophobia.' According to the Biden campaign, Biden was unaware of the travel restrictions at the time of his Iowa campaign event on January 31, when he first used the term 'xenophobia' about the coronavirus crisis. The event was on the same day Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar made the announcement. 

What Biden did say, however, was, "This is no time for Donald Trump's record of hysteria xenophobia, hysterical xenophobia, and fear-mongering to lead the way instead of science." Biden did use the term 'xenophobia' in a press conference as well as when Trump referred to COVID-19 as the 'Chinese virus' in March.

Trump tweeted, "I always treated the Chinese Virus very seriously, and have done a very good job from the beginning, including my very early decision to close the ‘borders’ from China - against the wishes of almost all. Many lives were saved. The Fake News new narrative is disgraceful & false!" Biden responded to Trump's tweet, "Stop the xenophobic fear-mongering. Be honest. Take responsibility. Do your job."

Trump's assertion that Biden explicitly linked xenophobia to travel restrictions has been called into question. PolitiFact concluded in a March 27, 2020, fact-check that while Biden used the term 'xenophobia' around the time of the travel restrictions, he did not explicitly tie it to that specific policy. The fact-check found Trump's claim to be 'Mostly False.'

Kate Bedingfield, Biden's Deputy Campaign Manager, clarified to CNN in April that Biden's reference to xenophobia was based on Trump's history of scapegoating others rather than a direct criticism of the travel ban. Biden's support for travel bans, according to Bedingfield, came later, on April 3, after scientific evidence supported such measures. Earlier, Trump praised the early travel restrictions as a decisive measure to slow the virus's spread.