Mahathir picks Biden, says Trump's re-election would be a 'disaster'

He said Biden seems more "reasonable".

Kayla Wong | June 15, 2020, 12:42 PM

United States Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden would make a better president than the incumbent Donald Trump, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in a virtual interview with South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Biden sounds more "reasonable"

While he does not know if Trump would be re-elected, Mahathir said he hoped that Biden, who previously served as Vice-President from 2009 to 2017, would be different.

For Trump to threaten to use the army against demonstrators, that is unheard of, he said.

"It'll be a disaster, continuous from now on, for the next four years (if) he becomes the president again," he said.

"I do hope that the Americans... I'm voting for Biden, of course I don't have a right to vote, but I think he sounds more reasonable."

When prompted by the interviewer, Mahathir elaborated that Biden responded to the George Floyd protests in a more appropriate way than Trump did, by coming across as more supportive of the protesters and the Black Lives Matter campaign.

Low approval ratings for Trump now

The U.S. is set to hold its presidential election in November, but the event might face logistical issues, judging from the Georgia primary contest where long lines of voters queued for hours.

Trump faces a storm of criticism that range from his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic to the protests that erupted over the death of George Floyd, an African-American man killed during an encounter with the police.

Trump's approval ratings have slipped from between 45.8 per cent and 47.4 per cent in April by about five percentage points, to around 41.0 per cent to 42.6 per cent.

The figures are a warning sign for his re-election hopes, as no incumbent in American history has ever won a second term with a pre-election approval rating of below 48 per cent, according to Brookings

Does not blame China for conflict with the U.S.

Mahathir also criticised Trump, remarking that the way he runs his campaign and administration is "not quite the proper way".

"He sacks all his staff who are not for him. This sounds like a third world country. You know, in Malaysia, we probably do that. If we don't like our staff, we sack him. This is America, the greatest democratic country in the world, very liberal and very tolerant. And he sacked so many of his staff."

He added that he "does not blame China" for the confrontation it is now having with the U.S., saying the latter even wants to confront Europe. He also commented on Trump's antagonistic stance towards Iran even as the latter grappled with the pandemic.

Citing the example of Trump applying sanctions on Iran, Mahathir said: "In many cases, even if you find that an enemy is suffering from something, you don't take advantage of their suffering to push your threat further, but this is what Trump is doing."

Expressing his frustration at the escalation of tensions between the United States and China, Mahathir asked "why can't they just sit down and talk?"

He believes that while China wants to talk, Trump does not want to.

Trump is "very belligerent"

Mahathir added that Trump is "very belligerent" and that he "rejects everything", even the risk posed by the Covid-19 outbreak when it first started in the country.

Trump said it was like the flu at first, but it's not, it's something more dangerous, Mahathir said.

Mahathir also expressed his incredulity at Trump promoting an accusation that a 75-year-old man in Buffalo, New York "faked" his fall after being shoved by a riot police officer.

"How can he say that? You must have clear evidence," Mahathir said.

High infection numbers in the U.S. as there is too much freedom

Mahathir also defended China's initial response to the virus outbreak, saying authorities must verify first how serious the new virus is.

"Once they discovered how serious it is, they told the world," he said.

They then placed the entire city of Wuhan under lockdown, which he said is something that is impossible in the U.S.

He said: "In America, they talk about freedom. You can't tell me not to come out of my house, so I go out. You can't stop me from demonstrating, that's my freedom."

"It's always about freedom, and that freedom has resulted in 1.7 million Americans being infected with the virus, and they have over 100,000 people dying, because of the freedom."

"In China, there is no freedom, and in Malaysia, we're more law abiding," he said. "The government says don't get out of the house, we don't get out of the house."

Mahathir: Malaysia's Covid-19 response more effective than other countries

When it comes to Malaysia, Mahathir said it performed better than most countries when it comes to controlling the Covid-19 outbreak, despite its negative economic impact.

He said people are now able to move around and visit shops, while accepting that they must follow certain safety measures from the government.

While the economy is not doing well, the country has a good opportunity to recover much earlier than others, he added.

Citing the number of new cases on June 9, which was a mere seven, he said "Malaysia's handling of the pandemic is much more effective than many countries".

"If we are careful, we can go to zero new cases," he said.

He also commented on the new administration led by current prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, saying the government is "doing too much politics", and is not giving strong consideration to the performance of the economy.

Malaysia reported two new cases the next day on June 10, and the number subsequently rose to double-digits for the next few days, with June 14 registering eight new cases.

There have been 8,453 confirmed cases so far in the country, and the death toll stands at 121.

You can watch part of the 75-minute interview here:

Top image via SCMP interview