Obama Just Made A Huge Announcement To Stop France’s Version Of Donald Trump

Image via Twitter

With just three days to go before French citizens head to the polls to vote for their next president, former U.S. President Barack Obama made a huge announcement in an attempt to prevent their version of Donald Trump from taking over. In a video Emmanuel Macron posted to Twitter, Obama announced his official support for the centrist candidate.

“I know that you face many challenges,” Obama said in the video posted Thursday, “and I want all of my friends in France to know how much I am rooting for your success, because of how important this election is, I also want you to know that I am supporting Emmanuel Macron to lead you forward.”

While he made it clear he will have no further involvement in future elections—either as a supporter or active participant—Obama did say, “The French election is very important to the future of France and the values that we care so much about because the success of France matters to the entire world.” Without directly naming Macron’s opponent, far-right National Front candidate Marine Le Pen, Obama alluded to her divisive tactics, including her plan for France to leave the EU—aka “Frexit.”

Obama added that Macron “appeals to people's hopes and not their fears, and I enjoyed speaking to Emmanuel recently to hear about his independent movement and his vision for the future of France.” Positioning Macron as the preferred option can only accelerate the momentum he’s been building for the past week. Currently, Macron leads the polls with 46.6 of the projected vote (according to a Suffolk University poll), but, as Americans had to learn the hard way, we won’t know for sure until voters cast their ballots this Sunday.