Trump labels Obama ‘grossly incompetent’ when asked about criticism of pandemic response

President Trump called former President Obama “grossly incompetent” when asked on Sunday about criticism his Democratic predecessor had leveled the previous day. 

“Look, he was an incompetent president. That’s all I can say. Grossly incompetent,” Trump told reporters Sunday outside the White House. 

He said he had not seen Obama’s remarks. He also did not expand on his comments about the former president.

President Trump: “[President Obama] was an incompetent president. That’s all I can say. Grossly incompetent.” pic.twitter.com/Cw6CwgxUrT

— The Hill (@thehill) May 17, 2020

A spokesperson for Obama was not immediately available for comment.

Obama said Saturday during a virtual commencement speech for historically black colleges and universities that the coronavirus pandemic has exposed a lack of leadership in the U.S.

“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,” Obama said without naming specific officials. 

“A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge,” he added. 

Democrats have widely criticized the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic. 

Obama has rarely criticized the Trump administration directly since leaving office in 2017, but CNN reported earlier this month that Obama had called the Trump administration’s response to the crisis an “absolute chaotic disaster” during a private call with his former aides.