The United States President Donald Trump on Sunday dismissed his predecessor Barack Obama as “grossly incompetent,” a day after former President said leaders weren’t “even pretending to be in charge” amid the coronavirus pandemic. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/a-lot-of-them-arent-even-pretending-to-be-in-charge-obama-attacks-trump-administration-299125">Also read: A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge: Obama attacks Trump administration</a>

“We did a lot of terrific meetings, tremendous progress is being made on many fronts, including coming up with a cure for this horrible plague that has beset our country,” he said. 
 
“Look, he (Barack Obama) was an incompetent president. That’s all I can say. Grossly incompetent," Trump said.

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Earlier on Saturday, Former US President Barack Obama attacked the Trump administration’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, stating that many of the country’s leaders “aren’t even pretending to be in charge”, media reports said.

''Let’s be honest, a disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country. We see it in the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on our communities,'' Obama was quoted as saying.

''More than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain 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,'' he said.&nbsp;

The US is the worst-hit country by the deadly contagion with at least 1,484,804 numbers of confirmed cases of coronavirus and over 89,399 fatalities.

In April, 20.5 million Americans lost their jobs and unemployment was at 14.7 per cent.

The Trump administration has been criticized for a delayed response to the outbreak and a lack of organization in providing tests and medical supplies. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

The United States President Donald Trump on Sunday dismissed his predecessor Barack Obama as “grossly incompetent,” a day after former President said leaders weren’t “even pretending to be in charge” amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The United States President Donald Trump on Sunday dismissed his predecessor Barack Obama as “grossly incompetent,” a day after former President said leaders weren’t “even pretending to be in charge” amid the coronavirus pandemic. Also read: A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge: Obama attacks Trump administration “We did a lot of terrific meetings, tremendous progress is being made on many fronts, including coming up with a cure for this horrible plague that has beset our country,” he said. “Look, he (Barack Obama) was an incompetent president. That’s all I can say. Grossly incompetent," Trump said. Earlier on Saturday, Former US President Barack Obama attacked the Trump administration’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, stating that many of the country’s leaders “aren’t even pretending to be in charge”, media reports said. ''Let’s be honest, a disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country. We see it in the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on our communities,'' Obama was quoted as saying. ''More than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain 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,'' he said. The US is the worst-hit country by the deadly contagion with at least 1,484,804 numbers of confirmed cases of coronavirus and over 89,399 fatalities. In April, 20.5 million Americans lost their jobs and unemployment was at 14.7 per cent. The Trump administration has been criticized for a delayed response to the outbreak and a lack of organization in providing tests and medical supplies. (With inputs from agencies)

Trump calls Barack Obama ‘grossly incompetent’ after ex-president's Covid-19 criticism

Former US President Barack Obama attacked the Trump administration’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, stating that many of the country’s leaders “aren’t even pretending to be in charge”, media reports said.

Former US President Barack Obama attacked the Trump administration’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, stating that many of the country’s leaders “aren’t even pretending to be in charge”, media reports said. Speaking during an online commencement address to graduates of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Obama came down heavily on his successor this breaking tradition of refraining from criticism of successor. ''Let’s be honest, a disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country. We see it in the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on our communities,'' Obama was quoted as saying. ''More than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain 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,'' he said. Also read: Donald Trump blames Obama for conspiracy on Twitter; calls it 'Obamagate' Talking about the injustice faced by the communities of colour, he also talked about the recent killing of Ahmaud Arbery. Ahmaud was an unarmed black jogger who was shot by a white former police officer and his son after they chased him in a neighbourhood in Georgia. “We see it when a black man goes for a jog and some folks feel like they can stop and question and shoot him, if he doesn’t submit to their questioning,” said Obama. Talking to the recent graduates, he motivated them to fight for a better future. “If the world’s going to get better, it’s going to be up to you.” The live video event also saw presence of Steve Harvey, Anthony Hamilton, Doug E Fresh, Wyclef Jean, Common, Kevin Hart, Wendy Raquel Robinson and Vivica A Fox. The two-hour event was broadcasted live on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge: Obama attacks Trump administration

President Barack Obama has asked people to give Donald Trump time and space to build his team, but has said he would speak out if the US&#39;s core values are threatened.

Obama was speaking at a press conference in Lima, Peru to mark the end of the Apec summit.

&quot;I want to be respectful of the office and give the president-elect an opportunity to put forward his platform and his arguments without somebody popping off,&quot; Obama said, amid concerns about Trump&#39;s administration picks and public statements.

But, he added that if there is something that &quot;goes to core questions about our values and our ideals, and if I think that it&#39;s necessary or helpful for me to defend those ideals then I&#39;ll examine it when it comes.&quot;

Obama&#39;s words go against tradition, with most former US presidents choosing not to comment on their successors.&nbsp;

Obama also reiterated that he and his team would give incoming President Trump the utmost support to help with the transition, in the same manner&nbsp;that George W Bush and his team had done with Obama.&nbsp;

US underpins world order

The outgoing president also underpinned the importance of the US, saying:&nbsp;&quot;The main advice that I give to the incoming president is the United States really is an indispensable nation in our world order.&quot;&nbsp;

The United States&#39; ability to uphold &quot;international norms and rules. That&#39;s what&#39;s made the modern world,&quot; Obama said, admitting that Washington had not always fulfilled its own ideals, but remained vital to global security.

&quot;Here in Latin America there&#39;s been times when countries felt disrespected and on occasion had cause for that.&quot;

But he argued history served as a warning for those imagining or flirting with a revised global order.

&quot;Take an example like Europe before that order was imposed. We had two world wars in a span of 30 years. In the second one, 60 million people were killed. Not half a million, not a million but 60 million. Entire continents in rubble.&quot;

&quot;We&#39;re not going to be able to handle every problem, but the American president and the United States of America, if we&#39;re not on the side of what&#39;s right, if we&#39;re not making the argument and fighting for it even if sometimes we&#39;re not able to deliver it 100 percent everywhere, then it collapses.&quot;

&quot;There&#39;s nobody to fill the void. There really isn&#39;t,&quot; he said.

&#39;Not optimistic&#39; about Syria

Obama also painted a gloomy picture of the future of Syria, especially after Russia and the Syrian government resumed bombardment of Aleppo last week, which has left scores of civilians dead.&nbsp;

&quot;I am not optimistic about the short term prospects in Syria,&quot; Obama said at the press conference.

&quot;Once Russia and Iran made a decision to back (Bashar al) Assad in a brutal air campaign... it was very hard to see a way in which even a trained and committed moderate opposition could hold its ground for long periods of time.&quot;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

He said he will speak up, against tradition, if core US values 'are threatened'

President Barack Obama has asked people to give Donald Trump time and space to build his team, but has said he would speak out if the US's core values are threatened. Obama was speaking at a press conference in Lima, Peru to mark the end of the Apec summit. "I want to be respectful of the office and give the president-elect an opportunity to put forward his platform and his arguments without somebody popping off," Obama said, amid concerns about Trump's administration picks and public statements. But, he added that if there is something that "goes to core questions about our values and our ideals, and if I think that it's necessary or helpful for me to defend those ideals then I'll examine it when it comes." Obama's words go against tradition, with most former US presidents choosing not to comment on their successors. Obama also reiterated that he and his team would give incoming President Trump the utmost support to help with the transition, in the same manner that George W Bush and his team had done with Obama. US underpins world order The outgoing president also underpinned the importance of the US, saying: "The main advice that I give to the incoming president is the United States really is an indispensable nation in our world order." The United States' ability to uphold "international norms and rules. That's what's made the modern world," Obama said, admitting that Washington had not always fulfilled its own ideals, but remained vital to global security. "Here in Latin America there's been times when countries felt disrespected and on occasion had cause for that." But he argued history served as a warning for those imagining or flirting with a revised global order. "Take an example like Europe before that order was imposed. We had two world wars in a span of 30 years. In the second one, 60 million people were killed. Not half a million, not a million but 60 million. Entire continents in rubble." "We're not going to be able to handle every problem, but the American president and the United States of America, if we're not on the side of what's right, if we're not making the argument and fighting for it even if sometimes we're not able to deliver it 100 percent everywhere, then it collapses." "There's nobody to fill the void. There really isn't," he said. 'Not optimistic' about Syria Obama also painted a gloomy picture of the future of Syria, especially after Russia and the Syrian government resumed bombardment of Aleppo last week, which has left scores of civilians dead. "I am not optimistic about the short term prospects in Syria," Obama said at the press conference. "Once Russia and Iran made a decision to back (Bashar al) Assad in a brutal air campaign... it was very hard to see a way in which even a trained and committed moderate opposition could hold its ground for long periods of time." (WION with inputs from AFP)

Obama says, if need be, he will speak out on Trump after leaving office

United States President Barack Obama upbraided Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for his derogatory remarks about women in a 2005 video that was made public by the Washington Post last week.

Obama said Trump&#39;s comments were so despicable that they would be intolerable even from somebody applying&nbsp;for a 7-Eleven job. (7-Eleven is a chain of convenience stores around the world.)

&quot;The guy says stuff that nobody would find tolerable If they were applying for a job at 7-Eleven,&quot; Obama said during a rally for Hillary Clinton, Trump&#39;s rival for the presidential post.

In the 2005 video, Trump can be heard talking about trying to seduce&mdash; that might be a euphemism&mdash; a&nbsp;married woman and grabbing women&nbsp;by their genitalia.

&quot;When you&#39;re a star they let you do it. You can do anything,&quot; he says in the tape.

The timing of the video,&nbsp;it was released barely a month before the US goes to the polls on November 8,&nbsp;has savaged Trump&#39;s prospects, as several Republican office-holders have withdrawn their support for him and publicly condemned him.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ipBvoEDBOpw" width="560"></iframe>

Trump has since&nbsp;apologised (watch video above) for his comments on the video but that has not been enough to assuage&nbsp;his&nbsp;detractors.

On Tuesday, Trump went on a kamikaze mission, bitterly attacking his&nbsp;partymen&nbsp;who have deserted him.

He was particularly critical of House speaker Paul Ryan, calling him &quot;very weak&quot; and &quot;ineffective&quot;.&nbsp;

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Our very weak and ineffective leader, Paul Ryan, had a bad conference call where his members went wild at his disloyalty.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/785828772423561216">October 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Nor did he spare senior party member and former Republican presidential candidate&nbsp;John McCain.

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The very foul mouthed Sen. John McCain begged for my support during his primary (I gave, he won), then dropped me over locker room remarks!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/785885793340448769">October 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
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(WION)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

He says they would be intolerable even from somebody applying for a 7-Eleven job

United States President Barack Obama upbraided Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for his derogatory remarks about women in a 2005 video that was made public by the Washington Post last week. Obama said Trump's comments were so despicable that they would be intolerable even from somebody applying for a 7-Eleven job. (7-Eleven is a chain of convenience stores around the world.) "The guy says stuff that nobody would find tolerable If they were applying for a job at 7-Eleven," Obama said during a rally for Hillary Clinton, Trump's rival for the presidential post. In the 2005 video, Trump can be heard talking about trying to seduce— that might be a euphemism— a married woman and grabbing women by their genitalia. "When you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything," he says in the tape. The timing of the video, it was released barely a month before the US goes to the polls on November 8, has savaged Trump's prospects, as several Republican office-holders have withdrawn their support for him and publicly condemned him. Trump has since apologised (watch video above) for his comments on the video but that has not been enough to assuage his detractors. On Tuesday, Trump went on a kamikaze mission, bitterly attacking his partymen who have deserted him. He was particularly critical of House speaker Paul Ryan, calling him "very weak" and "ineffective". Our very weak and ineffective leader, Paul Ryan, had a bad conference call where his members went wild at his disloyalty. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016 × Nor did he spare senior party member and former Republican presidential candidate John McCain. The very foul mouthed Sen. John McCain begged for my support during his primary (I gave, he won), then dropped me over locker room remarks! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016 × (WION)

Obama assails Trump for sexist remarks on 2005 video

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump visited flood-ravaged Louisiana on&nbsp;Friday, criticising the US president for not doing the same, as the region grapples&nbsp;with a historic disaster that killed 13 people. 
 
Trump and his vice presidential nominee Mike Pence met with local Republican leaders&nbsp;and emergency officials, and toured areas that just a few days ago were inundated&nbsp;with several feet of water. 
 
President Barack Obama, meanwhile, announced he was headed to Louisiana on Tuesday,&nbsp;after days of criticism from some in the southern state for not visiting during the&nbsp;week-long ordeal, which culminated with the Republican candidate on the ground and&nbsp;the president still on vacation. 
 
&quot;Honestly, Obama ought to get off the golf course and get down there,&quot; Trump said at&nbsp;a campaign rally later in the day in Michigan, alluding to the president&#39;s Wednesday&nbsp;golf game. 
 
Officials said about 40,000 homes were impacted by the floods, and more than 86,000&nbsp;people had so far registered for federal aid, with that number expected to grow. 
 
In announcing Obama&#39;s planned visit, the White House said the president would be&nbsp;&quot;mindful of the impact that his travel has on first responders&quot; and did not want to&nbsp;&quot;interfere with ongoing recovery efforts.&quot; 
 
Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards had previously indicated he would prefer Obama&nbsp;wait at least a week before visiting, to avoid pulling law enforcement officers away&nbsp;from the recovery effort in order to implement presidential security. 
 
&quot;We need every person to focus on continuing to rescue people,&quot; the state&#39;s&nbsp;lieutenant governor Billy Nungesser told MSNBC, agreeing with Edwards. 
 
&quot;The team he (Obama) has on the ground in Louisiana is doing a great job,&quot; said&nbsp;Nungesser, a Republican who greeted Trump when he arrived in Louisiana. 
 
Asked during a late afternoon news conference to comment on Trump&#39;s visit, Edwards&nbsp;avoided the subject. 
 
His office had put out a statement earlier in the day, saying he had not been&nbsp;informed of Trump&#39;s visit, but welcomed him as long as it was not &quot;for a photo-op.&quot; 
 
&quot;Instead, we hope he&#39;ll consider volunteering or making a sizable donation to the LA&nbsp;(Louisiana) Flood Relief Fund to help the victims of this storm,&quot; the statement read. 
 
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton released a statement saying she had&nbsp;spoken with Edwards and that the best course of action was to highlight the need for&nbsp;donations. 
 
&quot;Right now, the relief effort can&#39;t afford any distractions,&quot; Clinton said, adding,&nbsp;&quot;The very best way this team can help is to make sure Louisianans have the resources&nbsp;they need.&quot; 
 
Trump &#39;very gracious&#39;&nbsp; 
 
The first financial analysis of the disaster was released on Friday by the Baton&nbsp;Rouge Area Chamber, an economic development group. It suggested that the flood impact&nbsp;may be greater than first thought. 
 
The analysis found that as many as 110,000 homes worth $20.7 billion, most without&nbsp;flood insurance, were likely damaged in about half of the flooded parishes. 
 
While in Louisiana, Trump and Pence saw some of that damage first-hand, meeting with&nbsp;disaster relief volunteers, touring damaged structures, meeting an elderly couple who&nbsp;climbed to the roof of their home to survive the flood, and joining a short briefing&nbsp;with emergency officials. 
 
Ascension Parish Sheriff Jeffrey Wiley, who said he was in the briefing, told CNN&nbsp;that the candidate&#39;s visit helped bring much-needed national attention to the&nbsp;disaster.&nbsp;&quot;I will tell you he was very gracious and a good listener,&quot; he said. 
 
As the catastrophe unfolded over the past seven days, many in the state lamented the&nbsp;lack of national media coverage which would help bring more donations for victims. 
 
The White House says that the president received daily updates on the disaster,&nbsp;but the Baton Rouge newspaper The Advocate took him to task for not yet visiting in&nbsp;person. 
 
&quot;Obama should recognise that leadership involves symbolism as well as substance. In&nbsp;times of profound need, people need to see their president up close,&quot; The Advocate&nbsp;said in an editorial. The newspaper, however, did give credit to the president for&nbsp;quickly responding when the state requested a federal disaster designation for much&nbsp;of its southern areas. 
 
Obama granted the designation to 20 of the state&#39;s 64 parishes - Louisiana&#39;s&nbsp;equivalent to counties and&nbsp;also sent surrogates to monitor and help in the disaster response,&nbsp;including Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. 
 
The White House has clarified that in his visit next week, the president would get &quot;a first-hand look at the impact of the devastating floods and tell the people of Louisiana&nbsp;that the American people will be with them.&quot;

(AFP) 
 
 
&nbsp;

The White House says Obama stayed away since he does not want to 'interfere with ongoing recovery efforts'

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump visited flood-ravaged Louisiana on Friday, criticising the US president for not doing the same, as the region grapples with a historic disaster that killed 13 people. Trump and his vice presidential nominee Mike Pence met with local Republican leaders and emergency officials, and toured areas that just a few days ago were inundated with several feet of water. President Barack Obama, meanwhile, announced he was headed to Louisiana on Tuesday, after days of criticism from some in the southern state for not visiting during the week-long ordeal, which culminated with the Republican candidate on the ground and the president still on vacation. "Honestly, Obama ought to get off the golf course and get down there," Trump said at a campaign rally later in the day in Michigan, alluding to the president's Wednesday golf game. Officials said about 40,000 homes were impacted by the floods, and more than 86,000 people had so far registered for federal aid, with that number expected to grow. In announcing Obama's planned visit, the White House said the president would be "mindful of the impact that his travel has on first responders" and did not want to "interfere with ongoing recovery efforts." Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards had previously indicated he would prefer Obama wait at least a week before visiting, to avoid pulling law enforcement officers away from the recovery effort in order to implement presidential security. "We need every person to focus on continuing to rescue people," the state's lieutenant governor Billy Nungesser told MSNBC, agreeing with Edwards. "The team he (Obama) has on the ground in Louisiana is doing a great job," said Nungesser, a Republican who greeted Trump when he arrived in Louisiana. Asked during a late afternoon news conference to comment on Trump's visit, Edwards avoided the subject. His office had put out a statement earlier in the day, saying he had not been informed of Trump's visit, but welcomed him as long as it was not "for a photo-op." "Instead, we hope he'll consider volunteering or making a sizable donation to the LA (Louisiana) Flood Relief Fund to help the victims of this storm," the statement read. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton released a statement saying she had spoken with Edwards and that the best course of action was to highlight the need for donations. "Right now, the relief effort can't afford any distractions," Clinton said, adding, "The very best way this team can help is to make sure Louisianans have the resources they need." Trump 'very gracious' The first financial analysis of the disaster was released on Friday by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, an economic development group. It suggested that the flood impact may be greater than first thought. The analysis found that as many as 110,000 homes worth $20.7 billion, most without flood insurance, were likely damaged in about half of the flooded parishes. While in Louisiana, Trump and Pence saw some of that damage first-hand, meeting with disaster relief volunteers, touring damaged structures, meeting an elderly couple who climbed to the roof of their home to survive the flood, and joining a short briefing with emergency officials. Ascension Parish Sheriff Jeffrey Wiley, who said he was in the briefing, told CNN that the candidate's visit helped bring much-needed national attention to the disaster. "I will tell you he was very gracious and a good listener," he said. As the catastrophe unfolded over the past seven days, many in the state lamented the lack of national media coverage which would help bring more donations for victims. The White House says that the president received daily updates on the disaster, but the Baton Rouge newspaper The Advocate took him to task for not yet visiting in person. "Obama should recognise that leadership involves symbolism as well as substance. In times of profound need, people need to see their president up close," The Advocate said in an editorial. The newspaper, however, did give credit to the president for quickly responding when the state requested a federal disaster designation for much of its southern areas. Obama granted the designation to 20 of the state's 64 parishes - Louisiana's equivalent to counties and also sent surrogates to monitor and help in the disaster response, including Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. The White House has clarified that in his visit next week, the president would get "a first-hand look at the impact of the devastating floods and tell the people of Louisiana that the American people will be with them." (AFP)

Donald Tump visits flooded Louisiana, asks Obama to 'get off the golf course and get there'

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Trump calls Barack Obama ‘grossly incompetent’ after ex-president's Covid-19 criticism

A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge: Obama attacks Trump administration

Obama says, if need be, he will speak out on Trump after leaving office

Obama assails Trump for sexist remarks on 2005 video

Donald Tump visits flooded Louisiana, asks Obama to 'get off the golf course and get there'