DONALD TRUMP has accused Barack Obama of being a “grossly incompetent president” following his predecessor’s criticism of the US government’s response to coronavirus.
On Saturday, Obama appeared to hit out at the Trump administration's handling of the crisis, without naming anyone specifically, in video message recorded for college graduates.
In the livestreamed virtual commencement address, the former president said that the COVID-19 outbreak had demonstrated some officials "aren't even pretending to be in charge".
"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," Mr Obama said.
"A lot them aren't even pretending to be in charge."
Asked about Obama’s comments as he entered the White House this past Sunday, Trump responded:
"Look, he was an incompetent president, that's all I can say. Grossly incompetent."
Today, President Donald Trump called former President Barack Obama "grossly incompetent" after hearing Obama's criticism of the White House's response to COVID-19 yesterday. pic.twitter.com/QWyEkyHCp1
— ABC News 4 (@ABCNews4) May 17, 2020
Trump made the remarks upon his return from a series of meetings at Camp David.
"I think we had a great weekend,"” he told reporters.
“We did a lot of terrific meetings."
He added: "Tremendous progress is being made on many fronts, including coming up with a cure for this horrible plague that has beset our country.
"It was a working weekend; it was a good weekend. A lot of very good things have happened," he told journalists.
The US represents the global epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 1.5 million confirmed cases of the virus and more than 89,000 deaths.
