백악관 "코로나 통제 못할 것"…바이든 "패배의 백기 흔든 것"

Now the latest on the U.S.presidential election.
There are nearly nine million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and there have been almost 225-thousand deaths.
The pandemic is a major election issue, and drawing fire on that front is President Trump's Chief of Staff... for his comments in an interview.
Our Choi Won-jong has the details.
"We're not going to control the pandemic."
That's what White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said on Sunday in an interview with CNN host Jake Tapper.
Meadows was answering questions about the spread of the COVID-19 in the United States,... saying the White House is not going to control the pandemic but is going to "control vaccines, therapeutics" and what he called "other mitigations."
Then, asked why the U.S. is not going to get the pandemic under control, Meadows said it's because it's a contagious virus just like the flu, and the Trump administration is making efforts to contain it.
Responding, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden posted a statement on his campaign website saying the comments were not a slip by Meadows.
Rather, they show what he claimed is the Trump administration's real strategy: to wave the white flag of defeat and hope that by ignoring it the virus goes away.
Meanwhile, multiple aides to Vice President Mike Pence, including his chief of staff, have tested positive.
Pence campaigned on Sunday in North Carolina, despite having had contact with his chief of staff,... his spokesperson saying that the Vice President and Mrs. Pence tested negative.
With less than nine days left until Election Day, the number of early ballots cast already exceeds total early voting in 2016.
According to the U.S. Election Project, as of Sunday, more than 59 million Americans have voted so far, with more than 40 million ballots mailed in and 19 million ballots cast in person.
Choi Won-jong, Arirang News.