Obama Uses Graduation Speech To Take Thinly Veiled Shots at Trump, Who Fires Back
Former President Barack Obama indirectly slammed the Trump administration on Saturday in two separate addresses to graduates.
However, President Donald Trump on Sunday left nothing to chance when he responded to Obama’s criticism.
“He was an incompetent president. That’s all I can say. Grossly incompetent,” Trump said when he returned to Washington Sunday night and was asked by the media for a response.
In a video message to this year’s graduates of historically black colleges and universities, the former president on Saturday seemed to criticize the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus.
“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 said.
Obama delivered a second speech that also attacked the nation using slightly different language.
“This pandemic has shaken up the status quo and laid bare a lot of our country’s deep-seated problems — from massive economic inequality to ongoing racial disparities to a lack of basic health care for people who need it.
“It’s woken a lot of young people to the fact that the old ways of doing things just don’t work; that it doesn’t matter how much money you make if everyone around you is hungry and sick; and that our society and our democracy only work when we think not just about ourselves, but about each other,” Obama said.
Obama then seemed to hone in on Trump’s handling of the virus.
“And all those adults that you used to think were in charge and knew what they were doing? Turns out that they don’t have all the answers. A lot of them aren’t even asking the right questions. So, if the world’s going to get better, it going to be up to you,” he said.
Later in his speech, he again appeared to take a jab Trump.
“Doing what feels good, what’s convenient, what’s easy — that’s how little kids think. Unfortunately, a lot of so-called grown-ups, including some with fancy titles and important jobs, still think that way — which is why things are so screwed up,” he said.
Obama’s decision to not-so-subtly snipe at Trump was panned on Twitter, with the president responding.
The Obama Administration is turning out to be one of the most corrupt and incompetent in U.S. history. Remember, he and Sleepy Joe are the reasons I am in the White House!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 17, 2020
100% correct! https://t.co/ijkl89Q5Xj
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 18, 2020
“It is so unseemly for a former president to take the virtual commencement ceremony for a series of historically black colleges and universities and turn it into a political drive-by shooting” — Karl Rove on Obama’s commencement speech in which he indirectly criticized Trump pic.twitter.com/stZamQFhgF
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 18, 2020
This is how people behave when they’re stressed, guilty, and in a panic. https://t.co/avo3RRxhhd
— ✭ Wayne Dupree ? (@WayneDupreeShow) May 18, 2020
Clueless Obama weighing in with tremendous negativity as usual. He hates America folks. Let’s go strong for Trump 2020 now more than ever USA ??
— LKonz USA QAnon (@LarryKonareski) May 18, 2020
In a Saturday statement to CNN, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said “President Trump’s unprecedented coronavirus response has saved lives.”
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