President Donald Trump has failed to rise to the task of broadly inspiring leadership during the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak — poll after poll show majorities disapproving of and not trusting his response to the crisis. Former President Barack Obama is helping pick up the slack. This Sunday afternoon, he shared a message with his almost 114 million Twitter followers admonishing them to take the Coronavirus situation seriously and do their part to stem the disease’s spread. As he noted, many public health professionals have called for extra social distancing so that the virus reaches more vulnerable portions of the population less easily.
Referencing a recap he included from The Washington Post of the social distancing concept, he shared:
‘Watch this. It shows why we should all do the right thing and stay home to the fullest extent possible. All of us can help slow the spread of the virus, protecting the elderly, the vulnerable, and each other.’
Watch this. It shows why we should all do the right thing and stay home to the fullest extent possible. All of us can help slow the spread of the virus, protecting the elderly, the vulnerable, and each other. https://t.co/FgffQrMVB7
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 15, 2020
Not everyone has taken the situation remotely seriously. Oklahoma’s Republican Governor Kevin Stitt tweeted — and has since deleted — a photo of him and his family in a crowded restaurant. His spokesperson eventually claimed that Stitt “will continue to take his family out to dinner and to the grocery store without living in fear and encourages Oklahomans to do the same” — but it’s not about fear, it’s about common sense. Still, similarly, during a Sunday morning appearance on Fox, House Republican Devin Nunes explicitly suggested that anyone who happened to be healthy go out to eat — against some professionals’ advice.
Without actually naming the legislation or people involved in it, Obama also seemed to call on those in D.C. to quickly pass the currently on-deck plan to provide extra employment protections to workers around the country. Those protections include expanded unemployment insurance, and House Dems helped pass the legislation last week, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) adjourned his chamber until Monday evening.
Obama shared:
‘Not everybody can stay home, and we owe a big debt of gratitude to health professionals, transit and airport workers, first responders, and everyone keeping our communities going. Leaders have to step up to support people whose lives and livelihoods take a hit in the weeks ahead.’
Not everybody can stay home, and we owe a big debt of gratitude to health professionals, transit and airport workers, first responders, and everyone keeping our communities going. Leaders have to step up to support people whose lives and livelihoods take a hit in the weeks ahead.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 15, 2020
Check out Twitter’s response below