Obama slams US coronavirus response May 17, 2020 Former President Barack Obama (AP/Charles Rex Arbogast)(AP/Charles Rex Arbogast)Obama slams US coronavirus response Tweet WhatsApp Email https://worldisraelnews.com/obama-slams-us-coronavirus-response/ Email Print Obama’s unexpected political remarks to college graduates were the latest sign that the former president intends to play an increasingly active role in the coming election.By Jill Colvin, The Associated PressFormer President Barack Obama on Saturday criticized U.S. leaders overseeing the nationâs response to the coronavirus, telling college graduates in an online commencement address that the pandemic shows many officials âarenât even pretending to be in charge.âObama spoke on âShow Me Your Walk, HBCU Edition,â a two-hour event for students graduating from historically black colleges and universities broadcast on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. His remarks were unexpectedly political, given the venue, and touched on current events beyond the virus and its social and economic impacts. âMore than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what theyâre doing,â Obama said. âA lot them arenât even pretending to be in charge.âLater Saturday, during a second televised commencement address for high school seniors, Obama panned âso-called grown-ups, including some with fancy titles and important jobsâ who do âwhat feels good, whatâs convenient, whatâs easy.âRead Obama has âgrave concernâ Biden will lose upcoming election âWhich is why things are so screwed up,â he said.Obama did not name President Donald Trump or any other federal or state officials in either of his appearances. But earlier this month, he harshly criticized Trumpâs handling of the pandemic as an âabsolute chaotic disasterâ in a call with 3,000 members of his administrations obtained by Yahoo News. The commencement remarks were the latest sign that Obama intends to play an increasingly active role in the coming election. He has generally kept a low profile in the years since he left office, even as Trump has disparaged him.Obama told supporters on the call that he would be âspending as much time as necessary and campaigning as hard as I canâ for Joe Biden, who served as his vice president.As he congratulated the college graduates Saturday and commiserated over the enormous challenges they face given the devastation and economic turmoil the virus has wrought, the former president noted the February shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, 25, who was killed while jogging on a residential street in Georgia.âLetâs 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,â Obama said. âWe see it in the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on our communities, just as 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 doesnât submit to their questioning.âRead Obama remains silent over rampant antisemitism at his alma mater ‘The status quo needs fixing’âInjustice like this isnât new,â Obama went on to say. âWhat is new is that so much of your generation has woken up to the fact that the status quo needs fixing, that the old ways of doing things donât work.â In the face of a void in leadership, he said, it would be up to the graduates to shape the future.âIf the worldâs going to get better, itâs going to be up to you,â he said.It is a perilous time for the nationâs historically black colleges and universities, which have long struggled with less funding and smaller endowments than their predominantly white peers and are now dealing with the financial challenges of the coronavirus. Even at the better-endowed HBCUs, officials are bracing for a tough few years.Obamaâs message to high school students came at the end of an hourlong television special featuring celebrities, including LeBron James, Yara Shahidi and Ben Platt, and was less sharp-edged than his speech to the college graduates. He urged the young graduates to be unafraid despite the current challenges facing the nation and to strive to be part of a diverse community.âLeave behind all the old ways of thinking that divide us â sexism, racial prejudice, status, greed â and set the world on a different path,â Obama said.Read Obama has âgrave concernâ Biden will lose upcoming election Barack ObamacoronavirusUS politics