Barack Obama, former US president has referred to the way President Trump administration is responding to coronavirus crisis as “an absolute chaotic disaster”.
This was disclosed in a 20-minute conversation with members of Obama Alumni Association on Friday May 8, 2020.
The comments by Obama are a reminder to the Democrats that a strong government and leadership are needed to fight the coronavirus battle holistically. Obama urged the members of his alumni to support the Democrat candidate, former vice president, John Biden to defeat Trump.
In the tape of the call obtained by Yahoo news on Friday, Obama was head as saying, “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.”
“What we’re fighting against is theselong-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. And by the way, we’re seeing that internationally as well,” he added.
Speaking about the government response which he called spotty and anaemic, Obama further reiterated that such response has only being disastrous amidst the formidable coronavirus battle.
“It’s part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anaemic and spotty. 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 operationalised in our government,” said Obama.
“That’s why, I, by the way, am going to be spending as much time as necessary and campaigning as hard as I can for Joe Biden,” Obama said declaring his unwavering support for Biden to win the forthcoming presidential election.
However, Kayleigh McEnany, White House press secretary, in a statement to CNN on Saturday defended the President Trump against the criticism saying the Trump administration’s response to the virus has been remarkable and life-saving.
“President Trump’s coronavirus response has been unprecedented and saved American lives,” he said.
President Trump has recently being criticized for allowing states to reopen businesses even when there was no any safety measures given for reopening businesses. Critics have said this shows that Mr. Trump’s political interest is a priority and human life is not.
Trump’s administration has also been criticized for not being proactive in the fight against the worst virus as the administration fails to get available as plenty of testing kits and other medical equipment as needed in the crisis.
