Barack Obama says Donald Trump 'exceeded' his worst nightmares and the government handling of the coronavirus pandemic has been 'shambolic' in interview with Late Show host Stephen Colbert
Barack Obama has admitted that Donald Trump 'exceeded' his worst nightmares during an interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show.
Obama appeared on the late night talk show on Tuesday evening, where he discussed his new book 'The Promised Land'.
He also spoke about what he perceived as the Trump administration's incompetence at tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
Obama referred to the US Government's response to the crisis as 'shambolic', suggesting it was not 'rocket science' and that the 'leading epidemiologist of the country' had been undermined.
Former US President Barack Obama has admitted that Donald Trump 'exceeded' his worst nightmares during an interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show
He also said that safety measures including wearing masks and social distancing should have been considered 'common sense' rather than an 'act of oppression.'
'Had we just taken those steps there is no doubt that we would have saved some lives and ironically, the economy would have been better,' Obama said.
On the topic of Trump winning the presidential election in 2016, host Stephen Colbert described the moment as 'chilling' and saw an 'emotional flash' of all the ways the dignity of the office could be 'abused'.
On the topic of Trump winning the presidential election in 2016, host Stephen Colbert described the moment as 'chilling'
Asking Obama whether he had a similar feeling, he replied 'Yeah, it was a concern.'
When asked whether he felt like those concerns had been 'borne out', Obama replied that they were 'exceeded'.
Obama added that he got the sense people were 'exhausted' from the 'world wresting federation constant cage match'.
A Promised Land, the first of two planned volumes, was published on November 17 and sold nearly 890,000 copies in its first day
'People just want to feel as if a day passes without it being dominated by something crazy coming out of the White House.'
Also during the interview, Obama discussed his new book 'A Promised Land', which details the events that led to his decision to run for president.
The book sold more than 1.7 million copies in North America in its first week, besting the book debuts of his wife Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton.
A Promised Land, the first of two planned volumes, was published on November 17 and sold nearly 890,000 copies just in its first day.