WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama criticized some U.S. leaders overseeing the coronavirus response as he delivered an online commencement speech for graduates of historically black colleges and universities.

Obama told graduates that the pandemic shows many officials, as he put it, “aren’t even pretending to be in charge.” Obama spoke during a two-hour livestreaming event broadcast on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. At one point he said that “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 did not name any individual officials.