President Donald Trump attacked an ad released by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden featuring former President Barack Obama sitting down with Biden.
According to The Hill, in the ad, Obama sits down with his former vice president and tells him the U.S. is not dealing with the coronavirus pandemic as “smartly” as other countries with similar resources. Trump did not take the ad well.
“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!”
In the ad, in which the two sat down for a conversation, Obama said he was confident that if Biden is the next president, he will react 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 said to Biden.
In recent months, Obama has come back into the public spotlight after spending the majority of Trump’s first term largely out of the media focus. Obama has attacked Trump for his coronavirus response comparing it to climate change deniers and saying the U.S. needs a nationwide testing and surveillance program.
Obama has also taken shots at Republicans including Mitch McConnell, saying Republicans need to make better policy decisions related to the coronavirus pandemic. Trump has tried to shoot back, blaming Obama for both the coronavirus pandemic and the lack of testing in the U.S. However, many were quick to point out the coronavirus didn’t appear until three years after Obama left office.