Published 07:19 IST, May 17th 2020
Obama lashes out at US leadership, says some aren't even pretending to handle Covid crisis
As coronavirus cases in crossed 1.5 million, former President Barack Obama on Saturday criticised U.S. leaders on their response to the deadly virus.
As coronavirus cases in crossed 1.5 million, former President Barack Obama on Saturday criticised U.S. leaders on their response to the deadly virus. Speaking at a two-hour online event for students graduating from historically black colleges and universities, he said that some leaders and officials “aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”
Obama said, “More than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing. A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”
He also said: “Let’s be honest: A disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country,” Obama said. “We see it in the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on our communities, just as we see it when a black man goes for a jog and some folks feel like they can stop and question and shoot him if he doesn’t submit to their questioning."
Even as he did not name US President Donald Trump or any other federal officials, his criticism comes after a recording of his call with former members of his administration leaked in which he blamed the current US administration for its incapability to handle the Coronavirus crisis. Obama called it "absolute chaotic disaster" and said that "rule of law is at risk".
With the US presidential election only a month away, some say that political statement like these is bringing Obama to the forefront of playing an active role in the election. The commencement remarks were the latest sign that Obama intends to play an increasingly active role in the coming election. The former President has endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and had said that he will spend "as much time as necessary and campaigning as hard as I can” for Biden, who served as his vice president.
Trump targets Obama
Attempting to force what is being touted as a new 'conspiracy theory', US President Donald Trump has been tweeting a rather unfamiliar hashtag - '#OBAMAGATE!'. On Sunday, Trump in a series of tweet said that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who in December 2017 pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators during the course of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the election shows the extent of 'OBAMAGATE.'
Referring to the Watergate scandal in the administration of former President Richard Nixon that led to his resignation, Trump claimed that Obamagate makes it look smaller. The Watergate scandal is related to the Nixon administration's continuous attempts to cover up its involvement in the June 17, 1972, failed break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Washington, D.C. Watergate Office Building.
What is Obamagate?
As per reports, Trump is referring to a theory that has been going on within the conservative circles for a while. The theory states that it was former president Barack Obama along with his then-Vice President Joe Biden, former FBI Director James Comey, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and a handful of Ukrainian oligarchs, who raised the 'theory' of Russian meddling in 2016 US election. It alleges that the theory was picked by 'deep state' and spying on Trump's circle began.
Updated 07:20 IST, May 17th 2020