Former President Barack Obama said the “shambolic nature” of the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic “has been frustrating.”
During an appearance on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” Mr. Obama said that he has been among the lucky ones that have not had immediate family members get sick and not had to worry about paying the bills.
“The shambolic nature of the government’s response has been frustrating,” Mr. Obama said.
Mr. Obama said dealing with the coronavirus would have been hard for anyone but said the United States could have handled it better. He said Canada’s death rate per capita has been 39% lower than that of the United States.
“That is a measure of if we had done the work that was not rocket science, right?” he said. “We are not talking about inventing vaccines, I am glad to see the vaccines to start coming on board, but preliminarily communicating effectively, respecting the science, not undermining the leading epidemiologist in the country and saying he’s an idiot.”
Mr. Obama said he wished the administration has been consistent about the importance of wearing masks and to social distance and said the nation would have been better off if those actions were sold as “commonsense” and not “some act of oppression.”
“Had we just taken those steps, there is no doubt we would have saved some lives and ironically the economy would be better,” he said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.