Obama accuses Trump of ignoring coronavirus warnings, compares slow response to his climate change denials
It is not uncommon to see President Donald Trump blaming his immediate predecessor Barack Obama for the challenges he faces, including those in the times of coronavirus pandemic. But on Tuesday, March 31, the reverse was witnessed as the former president took a veiled swipe at his successor over the deadly outbreak that has hit 189,633 in the US, according to Johns Hopkins University and killed 4,081.
Obama particularly hit out at those who have underplayed warnings over the pandemic and ignored the threat of climate change.
Ever since he came to the office in 2017, Trump has systematically attacked pacts and rules concerning climate change for he is not convinced in the phenomenon. He has been critical of many green laws and reversed them to protect the fossil fuel industry and his administration now has finalized a rollback of the vehicle-fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards of Obama’s time that were aimed at lessening global warming.
On March 31, Obama took to Twitter to break his silence though he did not name Trump.
“We’ve seen all too terribly the consequences of those who denied warnings of a pandemic. We can't afford any more consequences of climate denial. All of us, especially young people, have to demand better of our government at every level and vote this fall,” Obama, America’s first black president who served between 2009 and 2017, said while citing a report of the Trump administration’s move in the Los Angeles Times.
Obama’s attack on the current administration came at a time when the pandemic situation is worsening with each passing day. The US is home to the maximum number of people with positive cases and its death toll is now more than that of China and next only to Italy and Spain. The Trump administration has been accused of responding slowly and inadequately to the crisis.
The latest rollback of the vehicle emissions standards that were adopted under the previous administration means the requirement for annual increases in efficiency through 2026 is only 1.5 percent, which is 3.5 percent weaker than the five percent increase as sought under the rolled-back rules.
The announcement has come under a massive backlash with California and 22 other states planning to challenge the reversal of what was being considered the most ambitious American policy aimed at tackling climate change. Big business, though, have backed the administration’s move.
While James Owen, the acting head of the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said the rollback plan strikes a balance between environmental, health and economic considerations, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it will only harm public health and put the country’s economy in jeopardy.
The New York Times reported that the rollback will result in emission of additional carbon dioxide in billion tons over a car’s lifetime than under the previous laws.
Last month, Trump accused the Obama administration over the shortage of testing kits in the US and also hit out at Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden over his handling of the H1N1 Swine Flu outbreak as Obama’s deputy.