Coronavirus: Obama attacks Trump administration and says many ‘aren’t even pretending to be in charge’

America’s 44th president appears to liken successor to a ‘little kid’

Barack Obama has launched a rare attack on the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, which he said had revealed the extent of the ineptitudes at the heart of government.

“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,” the former president said. “A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”

The rebuke of his successor came as the 44th US president addressed graduates of historically black colleges and universities, warning them: “So, if the world is going to get better, it’s going to be up to you.”

It is the second time in as many weeks that Mr Obama has publicly criticised the current administration, after leaked audio of him calling the White House‘s response to Covid-19 an “absolute chaotic disaster” sent Mr Trump furiously seeking to manufacture a scandal in retaliation using the hashtag #OBAMAGATE.

As the official US death toll passed 80,000 last week, Mr Trump also claimed he was getting “great marks” for his handling of the pandemic, comparing it to Mr Obama’s swine flu “disaster”, concluding: “Poor marks, bad polls – didn’t have a clue!”

On Saturday, the Democrat lamented that his young audience were tasked with finding their feet in a world devastated by a pandemic and economic recession.

“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,” he said. “We see it in the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on our communities.”

“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,” Mr Obama said, in a nod to Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man recently pursued and gunned down by a former police officer and his son in Georgia.

The address came hours after Mr Obama gave a separate speech to high school seniors in a virtual commencement ceremony, hosted by LeBron James and featuring Pharrell Williams, Megan Rapinoe and Malala Yousafzai.

The former president offered “three quick pieces of advice” for the future.

“First, don’t be afraid,” Mr Obama said. “America’s gone through tough times before – slavery, civil war, famine, disease, the Great Depression and 9/11– and each time, we came out stronger.”

The second appeared to be another backhanded jab at the the current president.

“Do what you think is right,” he said. “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.”

Thirdly, he denounced cynicism and fear, calling for young people to build a community, because “if we’re going to save the environment and defeat future pandemics, then we’re going to have to do it together”.

Mr Trump, meanwhile, was active on Twitter, mostly retweeting and writing about “Obamagate”​, the conspiracy he is peddling ahead of the upcoming election, which suggests the former president and his top intelligence chiefs sought to entrap incoming officials in legal controversies to kneecap Mr Trump’s presidency from the start.

Earlier this week, Mr Trump had also promoted a claim that Mr Obama was the “first ex-president to ever speak against his successor, which was long tradition of decorum and decency”.

Several former presidents have made comments criticising the policies of their successors, including George W Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Theodore Roosevelt.