Coronavirus: Donald Trump, Barack Obama clash over COVID-19 leadership

President Trump called Barack Obama ‘grossly incompetent’, after his predecessor launched a public attack on his response to the coronavirus.

Former US President Barack Obama and his successor, President Trump, have clashed over leadership during the coronavirus crisis. Picture: AFP

Barack Obama was “grossly incompetent”, President Trump snapped at reporters on Sunday after his predecessor launched a public attack on the government’s response to the coronavirus.

Mr Obama, who has until now largely maintained his silence on his successor, said the pandemic had “fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing” in a speech to graduating students of historically black universities and colleges, which was broadcast online. “A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge,” he said.

His remarks appeared to refer to the sometimes chaotic briefings by Mr Trump and the frequent criticism that the White House has retreated from a leadership role in the pandemic, leaving decisions to state governors.

Mr Obama addressed the graduates as the partial reopening of restaurants and businesses proceeded in nearly all 50 states, only 14 of which appeared to have met the federal government’s tests for lifting lockdowns.

Mr Obama had previously offered a tacit jab at Mr Trump’s strained relations with scientific advisers, while endorsing Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for the presidency, saying that he knew his former vice-president “will surround himself with good people: experts, scientists, military officials who actually know how to run the government and care about doing a good job running the government”.

Last week Mr Obama said in a leaked conference call that the government’s handling of the crisis had been “an absolute chaotic disaster”.

President Trump walks across the South Lawn upon return to the White House in Washington on Sunday. Picture: AFP

Returning to the White House on Sunday from Camp David, Mr Trump told reporters that he had not seen Mr Obama’s speech. “Look, he was an incompetent president, that’s all I can say,” he said. “Grossly incompetent.”

Mr Trump has sought to blame his predecessor for some of America’s missteps in responding to the crisis, in which more than 90,000 people have died.

Last week he also claimed that Mr Obama had directed American intelligence agencies to spy on him while he was running for president. “He probably directed them,” he told Fox News. “If he didn’t direct them, he knew everything.” Mr Trump did not offer evidence but claimed that some would be released in due course.

His trade adviser Peter Navarro on Sunday called the Obama administration “a Kumbaya of incompetence, in which we saw millions of manufacturing jobs go off to China” and said he was “glad to see Mr Obama has a new job as Joe Biden’s press secretary”.

He told ABC that Mr Trump had “built the most beautiful economy in modern history and China did take that down in about 30 days but we are in the process of rebuilding.”

Mr Navarro added that he did not mean to say that China had allowed the virus to spread deliberately.

Then President Barack Obama and vice-president Joe Biden in 2016. Picture: AP

As parts of the country began gradually reopening and crowds arrived at beaches and parks, Alex Azar, the health secretary, said there had not yet been signs of a spike in infections. “We are seeing that in places that are opening, we’re not seeing this spike in cases,” he told CNN. “We still see spikes in some areas that are, in fact, closed.”

New Orleans, once a hotspot for infections, allowed zoos, cultural institutions, churches, gyms and cinemas to reopen at the weekend provided they followed occupancy restrictions. Restaurants were allowed to open dining rooms but for only a quarter of seats.

In New York, Andrew Cuomo, the state governor, announced an agreement with governors in Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware to open beaches before the holiday weekend of May 25.

Crowds packed on to boardwalks on the Jersey Shore and at Coney Island in Brooklyn during fine weather on Saturday. In Central Park police had to act like bouncers at the gate of a popular field, restricting access until some of those sunbathing inside had left.

The Times