If Mitch McConnell thought he could stop Barack Obama from having an opinion on the state of the country, the former president just put him on notice that it’s not going to happen.
On Wednesday evening, Obama took to Twitter to weigh in on the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying, “Despite all the time that’s 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.”
Obama never mentions Trump or the GOP by name when he makes the suggestion of better policy decisions, but it comes days after Mitch McConnell shared that he found it “classless” for Obama to have said on a private phone call, that Trump’s response to COVID-19 has been “an absolute chaotic disaster.”
“I think President Obama should’ve kept his mouth shut,” the Senate Majority Leader told Lara Trump on Team Trump Online. “I think it’s a little bit classless, frankly, to critique an administration that comes after you.” He added, “You had your shot. You were there for eight years.”
Twitter ripped into the Kentucky lawmaker for his comments. “You know what’s ‘classless’?” MSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid tweeted. “Saying the former President of the United States — a grown, free, American man with every right [to] do as he pleases and say what he wants, should ‘keep his mouth shut.’ @senatemajldr McConnell should remember his manners.”
Now it appears that Obama has come to his own defense by simply ignoring McConnell’s wishes altogether. And it’s not the first time Obama has pointed out that his successor is making policy decisions that go against the best interest of this country. And it’s likely not the last.
As the election season moves forward, it’s possible that we’ll see a more outspoken Obama.