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| "Today I ask all Americans to remember. Remember those we lost and remember those we left behind," President Biden said, calling for Americans to fight Covid together. (Photo from BBC News) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] President Joe Biden will mark the grim milestone Monday as the US approaches 500,000 Covid-19 deaths, with a candle-lighting ceremony and a moment of silence, the White House said Sunday.
The event, which is set for 6:15 p.m. ET at the White House, will also feature first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Biden will deliver remarks on the lives lost ahead of the ceremony. The ceremony underscores the empathetic message Biden sought to bring to the US coronavirus response since taking office last month -- a departure from his predecessor. On Friday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration was working on plans so the President could use his "own voice and platform to take a moment to remember the people whose lives have been lost, the families who are still suffering."
"To heal we must remember," Biden said at the January event. Harris also spoke briefly at the memorial, noting that "for many months, we have grieved by ourselves. Tonight, we grieve and begin healing together." Their message stands is different from former President Donald Trump, who frequently defended his administration's response to the pandemic but rarely expressed grief for the victims. In September, Trump told Axios on HBO that the US Covid-19 death toll, "is what it is."
