Incompetent: A day after Barack Obama criticized the lack of leadership during the pandemic, President Trump called the former president incompetent. “Look, he was an incompetent president,” Trump told reporters, “That’s all I can say. Grossly incompetent.”

  Trump has always criticized and blamed Obama for his current problems, breaking presidential etiquette, but now Obama is in the fight. 

 In televised graduation speeches for historically black colleges and high schools, Obama said, “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. A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”

 Despite his brief critical remarks in the two speeches, Obama delivered the kind of inspiration that could have and should have come from the current President, if he had it within him to do it. 

  Obama told the college graduates, “Let’s be honest — a disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country.” He went on, “Nobody can tell you anymore that you should be waiting your turn. Nobody can tell you anymore ‘this is how it’s always been done.’ More than ever, this is your moment — your generation’s world to shape.”

 To the high school graduates, Obama said, “First, don’t be afraid. America’s gone through tough times before — slavery, civil war, famine, disease, the Great Depression and 9/11. And each time we came out stronger, usually because a new generation, young people like you, learned from past mistakes and figured out how to make things better.”

The Stat Board: New cases of the coronavirus are dropping significantly in some states, notably New Jersey, which has been hit hard. New cases in New Jersey dropped 38 percent last week.

  Also down are Missouri and Idaho.

  States with rising cases are South Dakota, Arkansas, and Maine, up 32 percent last week.

  This morning,  deaths in the US appear to have dropped significantly in the past 48 hours; 810 Americans died of the coronavirus, bringing the total to 89,564.

Not so Bright: The fired pandemic administrator Dr. Rick Bright pressed his claim last night on CBS’s “60 Minutes” that the Trump administration has failed in its fight against the coronavirus, setting off a tweet storm from the President.

  Bright said, “The best scientists that we have in our government who are working really hard to try to figure this out aren’t getting that clear, cohesive leadership, strategic plan message yet. Until they get that, it’s still going to be chaotic.”

  Trump tweeted, “Fake News! I don’t know this guy, never met him, but don’t like what I see.” He also said, “This whole Whistleblower racket needs to be looked at very closely, it is causing great injustice & harm.”

Pay Raise: Nobody ever thought they could lose their job and get a raise, but that’s what’s happening in the coronavirus epidemic. Many Americans are taking home more money in unemployment benefits than they did with their paychecks.

  Economists at the University of Chicago say that 68 percent of unemployed workers eligible for benefits are getting a payments greater than their lost paychecks. Much of that is because the federal government is kicking in an extra $600 a week. 

  In some states, the figures are dramatic. The study says the unemployed in Oregon, Iowa, South Dakota, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia are getting 160 percent of their pay. In Montana, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, it’s 170 percent.

The Bulletin Board: Also in an interview with “60 Minutes,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said economic recovery from the virus shutdown could stretch through 2021. He urged Congress to keep injecting money into the economy. — The firing of the inspector general for the State Department has put a renewed focus on accusations that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a political appointee doing personal tasks for him. That included walking the dog, picking up dry-cleaning and making restaurant reservations. Now there’s an inquiry into whether the IG was fired to protect Pompeo.

The Obit Page: Comedian Fred Willard, a master of dryly goofy humor, has died at age 86. Willard played Frank Dunphy, the father of Ty Burrell’s Phil Dunphy, on the ABC sitcom “Modern Family,” and he had a part in Ray Romano’s “Everybody loves Raymond.” Willard also had a great collaboration with director Christopher Guest, appearing in the movies “Best in Show” and “Waiting for Guffman.” — Former Miss America Phyliss George, who was the first female member of an NFL announcing team, has died of blood cancer at age 70. Denounced at first as knowing nothing about football, she quickly became one the most famous people in broadcasting. Her daughter is the CNN correspondent Pamela Brown.

The Covid Corner: Allure magazine reports that with women’s waxing studios closed during the pandemic, pop star Kardi B has been removing unwanted body hair with an $8 drugstore depilatory. — French linguists have determined that  Covid-19 is feminine, requiring the prefix “la” before the name. — A Wyoming strip club has re-opened with dancers wearing masks and nothing else.  

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