The former president said his successor was running a ‘reality show’ government
Barack Obama condemned Donald Trump throughout a damning speech at the Democrat national convention, arguing American democracy is at stake in the forthcoming election.
Obama’s message was as much a warning as it was a hatchet job, excoriating the sitting president for turning his office into reality TV but also a plea for the electorate to turn out and vote lest the incumbent return.
The former president praised his “brother” Joe Biden before delivering a take down of Trump.
“I never expected that my successor would embrace my vision or continue my policies,” Obama said. “I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously; that he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed in his care. But he never did.”
In reference to the coronavirus pandemic Obama said: “170,000 Americans dead. Millions of jobs gone while those at the top take in more than ever.”
He continued: “The commander-in-chief doesn’t use the men and women of our military, who are willing to risk everything to protect our nation, as political props to deploy against peaceful protesters on our own soil. Political opponents aren’t ‘un-American’ just because they disagree with you … A free press isn’t the ‘enemy’ but the way we hold officials accountable … Our ability to work together to solve big problems like a pandemic depends on a fidelity to facts and science and logic and not just making stuff up.
“None of this should be controversial. These shouldn’t be Republican principles or Democratic principles. They’re American principles. But at this moment, this president and those who enable him, have shown they don’t believe in these things.
“They know they can’t win you over with their policies. So they’re hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote, and to convince you that your vote doesn’t matter. That’s how they win.”
