A few hours after Johns Hopkins University recorded the 100,000th death from the COVID-19 pandemic, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden released a solemn speech.
“My fellow Americans, there are moments in our history so grim, so heart-rending, that they are forever fixed in each of our hearts as shared grief. Today is one of those moments,” said Biden, speaking directly to the camera from his office.
“One-hundred thousand lives have been lost to this virus here in the United States alone. Each one leaving behind a family that will never again be whole,” the former vice president said.
“It’s made all the worse by knowing that this is a fateful milestone we should have never reached — that could have been avoided,” he continued.
He then cited a study that showed if the Trump Administration would have acted one week earlier, over 36,000 American lives could have been saved.
Biden concluded his message sharing some wisdom he’s learned after overcoming with the traumatizing loss of two children and a spouse.
“I know there’s nothing I, or anyone else, can say or do to dull the sharpness of the pain you feel right now, but I can promise you from experience,” Biden said, “the day will come when the memory of your loved one will being a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eyes.”
