“ ‘Doing what feels good — what’s convenient, what’s easy — that’s how little kids think. Unfortunately a lot of so-called grownups — including some with fancy titles and important jobs — still think that way, which is why things are so screwed up.’ ”
That’s Barack Obama clearly blasting Donald Trump, without naming him directly, for his handling of the coronavirus. The criticism comes on the same day that the president’s son, Eric Trump, called the pandemic a “strategy” by the Democrats that will “magically” disappear by November.
Obama wasn’t finished at just one not-so-subtle barb tossed in the White House’s direction during his widely viewed commencement speech on Saturday.
“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,” he said, adding that “a lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”
Trump responded on Sunday by dismissing Obama as “grossly incompetent.” Here’s a clip of the president’s counterattack upon his return from a weekend in Camp David:
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Obama has mostly stayed away from criticizing the president in recent years, but his commencement speech marked the second time in a week that he let his feelings be known.
“It would have been bad even with the best of governments,” Obama, while making a push for Joe Biden, told some 3,000 ex-members of his administration in a call. “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.”
Aside from the politics, Obama also called for action from the graduating class.
“If the world’s going to get better, it’s going to be up to you. With everything suddenly feeling like it’s up for grabs, this is your time to seize the initiative,” he said. “Nobody can tell you anymore that you should be waiting your turn. Nobody can tell you anymore, ‘This is how it’s always been done.’ More than ever, this is your moment — your generation’s world to shape.”
Watch his full speech:
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Of course, Obama fans loved it and lit up Twitter TWTR, +1.54% with praise:
Soon, the #TrumpCommencementSpeech hashtag began trending:
Team Trump, not to be outdone, also made plenty of noise:
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