Former President Barack Obama on Saturday slammed President Donald Trump for his claims doctors are inflating the number of COVID-19 cases to make a profit and for his complaints the media is concentrating too much on his administration's handling of the pandemic.
"His closing argument this week is that the press and people are too focused on COVID," Obama said at a rally in Flint, Michigan, where he appeared with Democrat nominee Joe Biden, his vice president, reports The Hill. "'COVID, COVID, COVID,' he’s complaining. He's jealous of COVID's media coverage. And now he’s accusing doctors of profiting off of this pandemic."
Trump said during a rally in Waterford Township, Michigan, Friday "our doctors get more money if somebody dies from COVID. You know that, right? I mean our doctors are very smart people. So what they do is they say 'I'm sorry but everybody dies of COVID.'"
He also argued other countries are putting a lesser emphasis on COVID deaths, saying in the United States, "when in doubt, 'choose COVID.' It's true."
Trump also made similar claims last weekend in Wisconsin, when he said doctors "get more money and hospitals get more money" if they list COVID-19 as a cause of death.
"He does not understand the notion that somebody would risk their lives to save others without making a buck," Obama said Saturday.
Trump's remarks have been condemned by public health and medical experts, with Susan Bailey, the president of the American Medical Association issuing a statement calling the claims doctors profit from COVID-19 death rulings "malicious, outrageous, and completely misguided."
Obama has been campaigning for Biden at several events in recent weeks, appearing in Florida, Michigan, and Pennsylvania and planning to campaign for the nominee Monday in Georgia.
Obama also Saturday accused Trump of treating the presidency like a "reality show to give him the attention that he craves," while not showing "any interest in doing the work or helping anybody but himself or his friends."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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