Barack Obama Speaks Out After Mitch McConnell Tells Him To Keep His 'Mouth Shut'

See the latest stories on the coronavirus outbreak.

Former US President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged a better government response to the coronavirus pandemic, just days after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told him he shouldve kept his mouth shut about the issue.

McConnell also called Obama classless for criticising President Donald Trump .

Obama hasnt publicly criticised Trump by name and didnt do so on Wednesday.

Instead, he urged better policy decisions to fight the infections and protect people from the economic fallout as he shared a Vox report with expert ideas on countering the COVID-19 virus.

Despite all the time thats been lost, we can still make real progress against the virus, protect people from the economic fallout, and more safely approach something closer to normal if we start making better policy decisions now.https://t.co/pfokyI8GiB

Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 13, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Barack Obama","author_url":"https://twitter.com/BarackObama","cache_age":86400,"description":"Despite all the time thats been lost, we can still make real progress against the virus, protect people from the economic fallout, and more safely approach something closer to normal if we start making better policy decisions now.https://t.co/pfokyI8GiB Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 13, 2020\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Barack Obama on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1260707691900612615","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"archive","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"au","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5ebce697c5b6c495de48df7d","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/archive/au/entry/barack-obama-coronavirus-decisions_au_5ebce697c5b6c495de48df7d","entryTagsList":"coronavirus,donald-trump,covid-19,trump,barack-obama,pandemic,mitch-mcconnell,@chubwidget,@coronavirus_label_us","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":13},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5ebce697c5b6c495de48df7d","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Coronavirus","slug":"coronavirus","links":{"relativeLink":"news/coronavirus","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/coronavirus","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/coronavirus"},"section":{"title":"News","slug":"news"},"topic":{"title":"Coronavirus","slug":"coronavirus","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/coronavirus"},{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"news/donald-trump","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/donald-trump"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"covid-19","slug":"covid-19","links":{"relativeLink":"news/covid-19","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/covid-19","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/covid-19"},"section":{"title":"News","slug":"news"},"topic":{"title":"Coronavirus","slug":"coronavirus","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/coronavirus"},{"name":"trump","slug":"trump","links":{"relativeLink":"news/trump","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/trump","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/trump"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/trump"},{"name":"Barack Obama","slug":"barack-obama","links":{"relativeLink":"news/barack-obama","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/barack-obama","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/barack-obama"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/barack-obama"},{"name":"pandemic","slug":"pandemic","links":{"relativeLink":"news/pandemic","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/pandemic","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/pandemic"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/pandemic"},{"name":"Mitch McConnell","slug":"mitch-mcconnell","links":{"relativeLink":"news/mitch-mcconnell","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/mitch-mcconnell","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/mitch-mcconnell"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/mitch-mcconnell"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

Despite all the time thats been lost, we can still make real progress against the virus, protect people from the economic fallout, and more safely approach something closer to normal if we start making better policy decisions now.https://t.co/pfokyI8GiB
Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 13, 2020

Trump has repeatedly blamed his predecessor for his own administrations slow response to the pandemic, which has now killed more than 84,000 people in the United States.

At one point, he blamed the Obama administration for leaving him bad, broken tests for the coronavirus despite the fact that the virus didnt exist until last year.

In a private phone call with former members of his administration last week, the former president did name Trump, however, as he slammed the presidents response to the pandemic as an absolute chaotic disaster, as reported by Michael Isikoff of Yahoo News.

But publicly, without mentioning Trumps name, Obama has called out the lack of a coherent national plan to navigate this pandemic and warned of the consequences of those who denied warnings of a pandemic .

McConnell earlier this week said Obama should be silent.

I think President Obama shouldve kept his mouth shut , the Kentucky Republican said in an interview with Lara Trump , the presidents daughter-in-law and an adviser to his reelection campaign.

I think its a little bit classless, frankly, to critique an administration that comes after you, he said. You had your shot. You were there for eight years.

McConnell drew criticism from both sides of the aisle, including from the former chair of the Republican National Committee, for telling Obama to shut up.

I'm sure Mitch is aware that a grown ass black man who happens to be a former president has agency to speak his mind on how his successor is managing this crisis, especially since his successor has yet to keep \"his mouth shut\" about him.
And \"classless\"?https://t.co/kx6yyH8n4k

Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) May 12, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Michael Steele","author_url":"https://twitter.com/MichaelSteele","cache_age":86400,"description":"I'm sure Mitch is aware that a grown ass black man who happens to be a former president has agency to speak his mind on how his successor is managing this crisis, especially since his successor has yet to keep \"his mouth shut\" about him.And \"classless\"?https://t.co/kx6yyH8n4k Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) May 12, 2020\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Michael Steele on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/MichaelSteele/status/1260272854836424705","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"archive","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"au","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5ebce697c5b6c495de48df7d","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/archive/au/entry/barack-obama-coronavirus-decisions_au_5ebce697c5b6c495de48df7d","entryTagsList":"coronavirus,donald-trump,covid-19,trump,barack-obama,pandemic,mitch-mcconnell,@chubwidget,@coronavirus_label_us","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":13},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5ebce697c5b6c495de48df7d","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Coronavirus","slug":"coronavirus","links":{"relativeLink":"news/coronavirus","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/coronavirus","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/coronavirus"},"section":{"title":"News","slug":"news"},"topic":{"title":"Coronavirus","slug":"coronavirus","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/coronavirus"},{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"news/donald-trump","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/donald-trump"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"covid-19","slug":"covid-19","links":{"relativeLink":"news/covid-19","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/covid-19","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/covid-19"},"section":{"title":"News","slug":"news"},"topic":{"title":"Coronavirus","slug":"coronavirus","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/coronavirus"},{"name":"trump","slug":"trump","links":{"relativeLink":"news/trump","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/trump","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/trump"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/trump"},{"name":"Barack Obama","slug":"barack-obama","links":{"relativeLink":"news/barack-obama","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/barack-obama","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/barack-obama"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/barack-obama"},{"name":"pandemic","slug":"pandemic","links":{"relativeLink":"news/pandemic","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/pandemic","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/pandemic"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/pandemic"},{"name":"Mitch McConnell","slug":"mitch-mcconnell","links":{"relativeLink":"news/mitch-mcconnell","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/mitch-mcconnell","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/news/mitch-mcconnell"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/au/topic/mitch-mcconnell"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

I'm sure Mitch is aware that a grown ass black man who happens to be a former president has agency to speak his mind on how his successor is managing this crisis, especially since his successor has yet to keep "his mouth shut" about him.
And "classless"?https://t.co/kx6yyH8n4k
Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) May 12, 2020