White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro Calls Obama Administration A ‘Kumbaya Of Incompetence’
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro took aim at the Obama administration one day after the former president’s perceived criticism of Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, calling Barack Obama a “kumbaya of incompetence.”
Navarro appeared on ABC’s This Week on Sunday (as seen via Twitter), responding to remarks that Obama made during a national commencement address to graduating seniors that was seen by many as a criticism of Trump. While not mentioning Trump by name, Obama took aim at what he called a lack of leadership during the time of crisis.
“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,” Obama said in his speech. “A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”
Obama has become increasingly vocal in his criticism of Trump on the coronavirus crisis, with leaked audio of a conference call with former staffers showing that Obama called the response to the virus “chaotic.” The statement drew a sharp response from Trump and other top Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who said that Obama should have “kept his mouth shut” rather than criticize his successor. It has long been tradition for past presidents not to speak up about or share criticism of those that follow.
When asked about the perceived criticism in the commencement address, Navarro said it appeared that Obama had taken a job as “Joe Biden’s press secretary” and then turned the attention back to the Obama administration, claiming they performed poorly when it came to the economy and losing jobs to China.
“As far as I’m concerned, his administration was a kumbaya of incompetence, in which we saw millions of manufacturing jobs go off to China,” said the top White House trade adviser.
Navarro, who in the past has been critical of the role China played in the coronavirus pandemic and even called on the country to address rumors that the virus may have been released from a laboratory in Wuhan, said he still blames China because they hid information about the virus from the world. He credited Trump with building up the American economy after the end of the Obama administration but faulted China’s actions for the sharp drop. Navarro expressed confidence that Trump would be able to repair the economy from the damage caused by the pandemic.
