Lewis Morris · Aug. 25, 2020

One of the big decision points for undecided voters in November will be how the presidential candidates have handled or will handle the China Virus. With the incumbent, Donald Trump, we already know. He's pushing hard for new testing and new remedies, putting faith and funds behind the FDA, the CDC, and private-sector drug manufacturers to find a way out of this pandemic. Trump is also adamant about keeping the country open for business while we do it, recognizing that the widespread shutdowns probably did more harm than good.

Democrats spent much of their national convention last week tearing apart Trump's response to COVID. But, when asked what he would do about the situation, Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden has suggested doing pretty much everything that Trump is already doing.

Biden says he'll develop rapid testing that produces immediate results. Last week, the FDA approved two new rapid tests, and testing in general has improved dramatically in recent weeks. The country is conducting upwards of 700,000 tests per day, almost double the rate in June, and seven times greater than in March when the lockdown began.

Biden demands a coordinated nationwide effort to produce and distribute medical equipment and supplies under the Defense Production Act. Trump invoked the act at the start of the lockdown, exhorting American industry to help make ventilators and other necessary items. Of course, ventilators wouldn't have been in short supply if Democrats like New York Governor Andrew Cuomo hadn't squandered the opportunity to shore up emergency-response plans years ago. But the point here is that Biden is offering nothing that Trump hasn't already done.

When it comes to treatment, Biden is also shadowing Trump. The Democrat nominee wants ramped-up manufacturing of vaccines and other methods of fighting the virus. The Trump administration is already working with private industry to make this happen. All the major pharmaceutical companies are on board, feverishly working to develop a vaccine. Treatments are being tested that demonstrate the original thinking and bold ideas of America's manufacturing and medical-science sectors. Just last week, the FDA authorized the use of a very promising treatment that transfuses blood plasma from recovered patients, which includes antibodies to fight the virus, into those needing treatment.

The one dramatic outlier that differentiates Biden's virus "plan" from Trump's is top-down control. Biden is willing to shut down the country again. Claiming that he would "listen to the scientists," Biden is proposing what has been widely panned as one of the biggest mistakes of our virus response.