- On June 20, during a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Trump expressed different ways to label COVID-19.
- “It has more names than any disease in history. I can name kung flu. I can name 19 different versions of names,” he said.
- Obama expressed his frustration and anger about the use of the terms “kung flu” and “China virus” to refer to COVID-19 during the invitation-only Zoom fundraiser last Thursday.
- “I don’t want a country in which the president of the United States is actively trying to promote anti-Asian sentiment and thinks it’s funny. I don’t want that. That still shocks and pisses me off,” Obama was quoted by the New York Times as saying.
- Trump had earlier angered the Asian community over the phrase and other racial slurs he used to describe the pandemic.
- Trump has also been criticized for his administration’s botched pandemic response.
- The Obama campaign aides have been trying to strike a balance with his retirement and support for Biden’s campaign, as reported by the New York Times.
- “I don’t think he is hesitant. I think he is strategic,” top Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer said. “He has always been strategic about using his voice; it’s his most valuable commodity.”
- Obama is reportedly speaking with Biden and his top campaign aides on a regular basis.
- Obama’s advice to Biden includes keeping speeches brief, interviews succinct and all tweets short.
- “Better to make the campaign a referendum on Mr. Trump and the economy,” Democratic officials say.
- Trump, who blamed Obama for unspecified crimes last month, has accused the former president of treason during a CBN News interview last week.
- The president would not state what the crimes were until an interview early last week, where he accused Obama of spying on his campaign.