Obama lets fly at Trump’s take on virus
Barack Obama has delivered a scathing rebuke of Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic, saying the country was “so screwed up” and those in power “aren’t even pretending to be in charge”. Without mentioning anyone by name, Mr Obama strongly criticised Mr Trump’s handling of the crisis in two online addresses. “More than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing,” he said.
AMBER RUDD, the former home secretary, has claimed the Government would be making “better decisions” if more women were in senior positions.
She said it was not a matter of “optics”, but an issue of “good government”.
Ms Rudd added: “We hear a lot from No 10, and particularly from Dominic
Cummings in the past, about wanting to make sure that we have a diverse talent at the top of government.
“Well, I would start by making sure there are some women at the top. The most senior posts are generally held by men and I really think the Prime Minister needs to do something about that.”
She made the comments after concerns were raised that the main decisions on coronavirus are being made by an all-male “quad” of ministers.
It is understood that there is growing discontent among female members of Cabinet that all key decisions in the Government’s coronavirus response are centralised around Rishi Sunak, Michael Gove, Matt Hancock and Dominic Raab.
The Prime Minister’s most senior adviser Dominic Cummings is said to have enacted a “hub and spoke” model – with power centralised around the four male ministers.
Mr Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is said to wield particular influence under the current arrangement, with colleagues claiming he is “at the heart” of
There has also been criticism over a lack of female ministers at the daily coronavirus briefing, with only Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, hosting the live session from Downing Street.
Questions have been raised as to why senior figures – including Therese Coffey, the Work and Pensions Secretary and Liz Truss, International Trade Secretary – have been missing from the press conferences.
Ms Truss defended the Government over such criticism, saying appearances should not be based on “tokenism”.
She said “excessive focus on what gender” the politician helming the televised briefing was “does a disservice to women”.
Ms Truss said: “I don’t like tokenism. I don’t like the idea that somebody should just appear at a press conference or in a media interview because they’re a woman.”
The minister said people should appear based on their “merits” and “what they are capable of ”. However, Ms Rudd admitted that the press conferences had left her wondering, “Where are all the women?”
She asked: “Why are there no senior women in the ‘war cabinet’ or used to convey those critical messages?
“Equality means better decisions. Don’t pack the women away during a crisis.”
Ms Rudd was once hailed as a future prime minister, and stepped in for Theresa May during a leadership debate in the run-up to the 2017 general election.