Trump blasts Obama over ad featuring sit-down with Biden

President Trump on Thursday slammed an ad released by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden that featured former President Obama telling his former vice president the U.S. is not dealing with the coronavirus pandemic as “smartly” as other countries with similar resources.

“Obama, who wouldn’t even endorse Biden until everyone else was out of the primaries (and even then waited a long time!), is now making a commercial of support,” Trump tweeted, referring to Obama’s relative silence during the Democratic primary. 

“Remember, I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for them. I wouldn’t be President. They did a terrible job!”

Obama, who wouldn’t even endorse Biden until everyone else was out of the primaries (and even then waited a long time!), is now making a commercial of support. Remember, I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for them. I wouldn’t be President. They did a terrible job!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2020

In the video, which featured a conversation between the former president and vice president, Obama said he was confident that if Biden is elected in November he will respond to the crisis effectively.

“You and I had experience dealing with health crises, public health crises, and in each instance what you and I understood, and why I have so much confidence that you’re going to be able to deal with COVID in the way that other countries with our kinds of resources are dealing with it right now, which is smartly — I have confidence you’re going to actually listen to the experts,” Obama told Biden.

Obama has previously criticized the current administration’s response to the pandemic, calling it an “absolute chaotic disaster.” Trump has often responded to criticism of his response to the pandemic by saying he inherited a troubled system.

During their conversation Biden noted that during their administration a pandemic office was set within the White House with the goal of creating international cooperation to prepare for potential outbreak. The Trump White House disbanded the National Security Council’s office overseeing responses to pandemics in 2018.