Obama slams Trump’s coronavirus response: 'He's jealous of COVID's media coverage'
At a campaign rally for former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday, former President Barack Obama criticized President Trump and his administration for their response to the coronavirus pandemic. “They’re waving the white flag of surrender,” Obama said.
Video Transcript
BARACK OBAMA: More than 225,000 people in this country are dead. More than 100,000 small businesses have closed. Half a million jobs are gone in Florida alone. Think about that. And well, what's his closing argument? That people are too focused on COVID. He said this at one of his rallies. COVID, COVID, COVID, he's complaining. He's jealous of COVID's media coverage.
BARACK OBAMA: If he had been focused on COVID from the beginning, cases wouldn't be reaching new record highs across the country this week. If we were focused on COVID now, the White House wouldn't be having its second outbreak in a month. The White House.
BARACK OBAMA: Let me say this, I lived in the White House for a while. You know it's a controlled environment. You can take some preventive measures in the White House to avoid getting sick. Except this guy can't seem to do it. He's turned the White House into a hot zone.
BARACK OBAMA: Some of the places he holds rallies have seen new spikes right after he leaves town. And over the weekend, his chief of staff said-- and I'm quoting here, I'm not making this up-- his chief of staff, on a news program says, "We're not going to control the pandemic." He just said this. Yes he did. And yes, we noticed you're not going to control the pandemic.
BARACK OBAMA: Listen, winter is coming. They're waving the white flag of surrender. Florida, we can't afford four more years of this.
[CHEERING]
BARACK OBAMA: That's why we've got to send Joe Biden to the White House. Because we cannot afford this kind of incompetence and disinterest.
