White House trade adviser Peter Navarro hit back at former President Barack Obama Sunday, after the former leader criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus.
“I’m glad Mr. Obama has a new job as Joe Biden’s press secretary,” Mr. Navarro said on ABC News’ “This Week.”
On Saturday, Mr. Obama said the pandemic has shown a lack of leadership from the Trump administration.
“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. A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge,” Mr. Obama said in remarks for an online event honoring students graduating from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Last week, in a private call with former members of his administration, Mr. Obama described the response as a “chaotic disaster.”
The former president has mostly refrained from directly criticizing President Trump or his administration during the past three years of his tenure, but that has shifted as the 2020 campaign ramps up with Mr. Obama’s former vice president leading the Democrats.
Mr. Navarro said he didn’t see any mention of China or manufacturing in Mr. Obama’s “kumbaya of incompetence” speech Saturday, arguing that’s what the American public is concerned with.
“We’re going to go back to the future here: by American, deregulate and innovate,” he said. “Bring the jobs home and make it here.”
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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