Former president Barack Obama took a swipe at President Trump on Twitter after the administration released new fuel efficiency standards that critics say favor the oil and gas industry.

Obama took to Twitter, in a rare direct criticism of the Trump administration on the COVID-19 crisis as well as its rolling back of fuel efficiency standards intended to fight climate change.
“We've seen all too terribly the consequences of those who denied warnings of a pandemic. We can't afford any more consequences of climate denial,” Obama wrote. “All of us, especially young people, have to demand better of our government at every level and vote this fall.”

The new rule, which comes from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department replaces standards set in 2012 by the Obama administration that calls for 5 percent annual increases in fuel efficiency. The Trump administration rule calls for 1.5 percent, according to CNN
The New York Times reported Wednesday that under the Trump plan, as much as a billion more tons of carbon dioxide would be released, as well as 80 billion more gallons of gasoline consumed.
Gina McCarthy, former EPA administrator under Obama who is now head of the Natural Resources Defense Council was equally critical.
"It will harm the air we breathe, stall progress in fighting the climate crisis and increase the cost of driving. The only winner from this action is the oil industry, which wants us stuck driving dirty gas guzzlers as long as possible," McCarthy said in a statement, according to CNN.

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Obama’s tweet also made mention of the Trump administration’s slow response to the coronavirus pandemic, which many say could have been largely averted had the president taken it seriously earlier.

Trump began making budget cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2018, and disbanded its pandemic response team, which critics say could have prevented the widespread infections of COVID-19. 

According to Johns Hopkins University data, more than 189,000 people in the United States are infected with the coronavirus and 4,000 have died.  

For the latest on the coronavirus, check out BET’s blog on the virus, and contact your local health department or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.