Biden says he'd shut country down to combat coronavirus if scientists said it was necessary

Newly-minted Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said that he would shut down the country to combat the coronavirus pandemic if scientists said it was necessary.

“I will be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives because we cannot get the country moving until we control the virus,” Biden said in a snippet of an interview aired on ABC's "World News Tonight." “That is the fundamental flaw of this administration's thinking to begin with. In order to keep the country running and moving and the economy growing, and people employed, you have to fix the virus, you have to deal with the virus.”

And if scientists said it was necessary to shut the country down to do so, Biden said, “I would shut it down; I would listen to the scientists.”

The virus has killed over 175,000 Americans and infected over 5.6 million.

Biden was joined by his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, who was asked about President Donald Trump's attacks on her. He's called her "mean" and "nasty," among other insults.

Harris shrugged it off.

“I think that there is so much about what comes out of Donald Trump's mouth that is designed to distract the American people from what he is doing every day that is about neglect, negligence, and harm to the American people,” she said.

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Biden said Trump's insults were unpresidential.

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“The idea that he would say something like that, no president, no president has ever said anything like that," Biden said.

The full interview is set to air on ABC on Sunday.

Fresh off Thursday night's wrap-up of the Democratic National Convention, Biden and Harris also held a “Grassroots Fest” virtual fundraiser with their spouses on Friday that raised $1.6 million from 42,000 small donors.

The Biden-Harris campaign also announced it raised $70 million during the four-night DNC. That’s in addition to the $48 million they raised immediately after announcing Harris as the running mate.