Sanders spoke shortly after 2020 rival Joe Biden laid out his own detailed response that tried to draw contrast with President Donald Trump's isolationist approach. Like Biden, Sanders slammed the Trump administration as inept in the face of a global pandemic as he urged the formation of a bipartisan panel of health experts to lead the fight against the virus. But he primarily focused on the need to aid poor Americans who will be hit hardest by the “global economic meltdown” that he claimed is facing the nation.

“If there ever was a time in the modern history of our country when we are in this together, this is that moment,” he said. “We need to worry about those who are already sick, we need to worry about working families with children, people with disabilities, the homeless and all those who are vulnerable.”

The Vermont senator also pointed to the outbreak as further evidence for the need to pass "Medicare for All," lamenting that the U.S. is at a “severe disadvantage” compared to the rest of the developed world because it does not guarantee health care to everyone.