- Former President Barack Obama harshly criticized Trump’s response to the coronavirus crisis in a call with supporters.
- Obama reportedly called the situation “an absolute chaotic disaster,” and urged his supporters to support Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the upcoming election.
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Former President Barack Obama has remained relatively quiet over the course of the last few months, only popping up occasionally to offer some comforting messages during these stressful pandemic days. That appears to be over, as the leader of the previous administration attacked the handling of the coronavirus crisis by Donald Trump.
Speaking on a call with the Obama Alumni Association, Obama reportedly slammed Trump’s fumbling of the crisis, calling it “an absolute chaotic disaster.”
As CNN reports, the call lasted around 30 minutes, much of which was spent focusing on the current pandemic crisis and the government’s lackluster response. Obama also spoke about the upcoming presidential election, noting how divided the country has become, and not just along political lines.
“This election that’s coming up — on every level — is so important because what we’re going to be battling is not just a particular individual or a political party,” Obama said, according to Yahoo News. “What we’re fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy — that has become a stronger impulse in American life.”
The former president was particularly critical of how the current administration has appeared to take a “what’s in it for me” approach to providing support for the states and their citizens.
“It’s part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty,” Obama reportedly said. “It would have been bad even with the best of governments. It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset — of ‘what’s in it for me’ and ‘to heck with everybody else’ — when that mindset is operationalized in our government.”
Obama formally endorsed Democratic candidate Joe Biden in April. That was something of a foregone conclusion given that Obama selected Biden to be his Vice President, and the two shared 8 years together in the White House.
The Trump administration has received no shortage of criticism from Democrats, and even members of the Republican party. Slow response and lack of support for many states have been called out as a major failing of the White House’s strategy, and Trump’s often confusing pandemic updates have often caused more confusion than comfort.
States are doing their best to manage their own needs at this point, but some are beginning to loosen restrictions related to social distancing and business closures. Health experts have almost universally decried these decisions, insisting that it’s likely to lead to a strong second wave of new coronavirus infections.
