President Barack Obama expressed confidence in President-Elect Joe Biden’s character as the latter begins his transition into the White House.
Promoting his new memoire A Promised Land, Obama sat down with The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon to talk his experience as Commander In Chief, his greatest accomplishment as president and the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Excited for his former VP to take the charge, along with Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris, Obama said Biden’s character is what the country needs.
“The thing about Joe is that he genuinely loves people, everybody. Joe is exactly who he appears to be,” he said on Friday.
He remembered hitting the campaign trail with his VP pick years ago, noting that Biden would constantly stir up conversation with supporters and rally attendees. Obama joked that touring with the to-be president meant being tardy.
“He really cares about people and letting them know they’re important,” he said. “I think that fundamental character of is his is exactly what we need right now after so much division and anger and frustration, just having someone who likes people, cares about them, knows their struggles – I think that’s going to make a big difference.”
But while he took The Tonight Show to speak about the incoming president, Obama also used the time to address outgoing president Donald Trump and his administration’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. When asked about whether it was difficult to take the back seat as Trump sat in office, Obama said it was difficult, adding that it was even harder as the Covid-19 pandemic started.
Obama said that to help deal with the H1N1 and Ebola viruses during his time, he and his administration created a structure and task force to combat the spread of the various viruses. However Obama expressed dismay in how the Trump administration has failed to use the resources in place.
“When you see all that discarded and ignored just at the time when you need it most and knowing the consequences for families across the country… that was frustrating,” Obama told Fallon.
See the entire The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon interview segment above.