Obama: ‘We’ve been in the middle of a global pandemic for two years’
In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Thursday, President Barack Obama said he believed the world was “well on its way to a pandemic.”
“I’ve been saying for two or three years, I don’t think we’re going to see a pandemics here in the U.S.,” Obama said.
“We’ve seen the beginnings of it, we’ve seen a couple of small outbreaks, but it’s not like we’ve been out there doing it for two decades.
I think we’ve had the kind of progress that we need.”
The president added, “I think we have the tools we need, and we’re well on our way to being in a global crisis.
It’s not a new idea, it’s been around for two, three decades, and it’s going to be here in a crisis situation for the foreseeable future.”
In a series of tweets, Obama said that while he would not rule out the possibility of the pandemic being contained in the United States, “It won’t be here for long.
We’re going for global dominance, not global survival.”
He continued, “But I do think we are moving in a direction where the world is beginning to realize that a pandemia isn’t going to do us any good.
It will only lead to a global disaster.”
Obama, speaking on CNN’s New Day, also addressed a host of other topics, including the Trump administration’s response to the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12, and the ongoing efforts by members of Congress to pass a massive tax increase in order to fund the Affordable Care Act.
While the president did not address any of the major legislative priorities currently in play, he noted that he had “some very good things in mind” for Congress.
He also reiterated his position that the Affordable Health Care Act (ACA) is a “solution in search of a problem.”
“We’ve had a great health care law, but we’ve also had some very good solutions that are working,” he said.