'He is his own state of emergency': Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf blasts President Donald Trump

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf called Donald Trump "a disaster" in an interview Tuesday. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf called Donald Trump "a disaster" in an interview Tuesday. Photo: Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times Via Getty Images Photo: Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times Via Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close 'He is his own state of emergency': Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf blasts President Donald Trump 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf blasted President Donald Trump in a televised interview on KTVU on Tuesday morning, calling the president a "disaster" and "his own state of emergency."

"The President has exhibited such poor leadership throughout this crisis, going from Obama-blaming to denial to now downplaying the seriousness of this crisis," Schaaf told KTVU. "It is so reprehensible that he is not giving American people the truth."

It’s crazy I even have to say it: People’s lives are more important than profits. By taking decisive action now, we can avoid needless suffering. #StayAtHome pic.twitter.com/eRQnMirxNK — Libby Schaaf (@LibbySchaaf) March 24, 2020

Schaaf's comments were in response to a tweet sent by Trump on Sunday. In the tweet, the president implied that he was open to loosening social distancing recommendations after a 15-day period, concluding on March 30.

"WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF," he wrote. "AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!"

The president reinforced this stance in comments made during his Monday press briefing, saying that America will "soon be open for business."

The desire for a quick return to normalcy goes against the advice of public health experts, who warn against the negative repercussions of an alacritous restoration of the status quo.

"You can’t call off the best weapon we have, which is social isolation, even out of economic desperation, unless you’re willing to be responsible for a mountain of deaths,” NYU bioethics professor Arthur Caplan told the New York Times. "Thirty days makes more sense than 15 days. Can’t we try to put people’s lives first for at least a month?"

Schaaf, for her part, went even further in her Tuesday interview.

"I have been incredibly disappointed in this president," Schaaf said. "He is a disaster. He is his own state of emergency."

Michael Rosen is an SFGATE digital editor. Email: michael.rosen@sfgate.com.