Former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel is coming to former President Barack Obama’s defense after he made comments about how President Donald Trump has handled the coronavirus pandemic.
Co-host of “The View” Joy Behar asked Emanuel if he was surprised when Obama spoke out about Trump’s coronavirus response efforts or if he felt it was time for him to do so.
“I think the president has been incredibly restrained over three and a half years. He’s in a private call with staff. He said what he said,” Emanuel said.
He added, “I want to be honest, a lot of other people have said publicly, not privately on a phone call, a lot worse of how Trump did this and handled this.”
Watch his comments below:
After former Pres. Barack Obama called Pres. Trump’s coronavirus response “an absolute chaotic disaster,” @RahmEmanuel says Obama “has been incredibly restrained over three and a half years” of Trump’s presidency: “He said what he said.” https://t.co/f8u2wbJuik pic.twitter.com/znrkaBuigv
— The View (@TheView) May 14, 2020
Emanuel’s comments come shortly after a tape captured a conversation between Obama and former members of his administration leaked to the media, as IJR previously reported.
During the conversation, Obama described Trump’s coronavirus response efforts as “anemic,” “spotty,” and an “absolute chaotic disaster.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) slammed Obama for his comments, telling him to keep his “mouth shut” and calling his remarks “classless,” as IJR also reported.
Emanuel explained if Trump had acted sooner rather than later, the nation would be in a different place.
“If he had gone fast and furious, not slow and sloppy, we’d be in a different situation,” Emanuel said.
He described how he believes Trump is “wasting this moment.”
“We all look out for each other. That’s what the one silver lining of this moment is, we’ve discovered what binds us together,” Emanuel said of Americans coming together.
He continued, “And rather than use that moment to take Americans together into the future, he’s trying to figure out who to leave behind on a burning bridge and it’s crazy. It’s a waste of presidential leadership.”