Former president Barack Obama made a speech at the University of Illinois in Champaign, IL, reemerging twenty months in to the Trump fiasco.
Private Citizen Obama came out swinging, offering a rallying cry to the #resistance for the upcoming midterm elections, and condemning the toxicity of this so-called conservatism ruling in Washington.
Former President Obama, referring to “people who are genuinely… fearful of change” during speech at University of Illinois: “It did not start with Donald Trump. He is a symptom, not the cause. He’s just capitalizing on resentments that politicians have been fanning for years.” pic.twitter.com/WKdGJME0B9
— CNN (@CNN) September 7, 2018
“It’s not conservative. It sure isn’t normal. It’s radical. It’s a vision that says the protection of our power and those who back us is all that matters,” he said.
Obama didn’t just call out Republicans as hypocrites for cutting taxes for the rich with no spending offsetts after a decade of pretending to care about the deficit—he made a call to action, telling Americans that if they don’t vote in November, it’s only going to get worse.
“[If people stop voting] A politics of fear and resentment and retrenchment takes hold and demagogues promise simple fixes to complex problems. No promise to fight for the little guy, even as they cater to the wealthiest and most powerful. No promise to clean up corruption and then plunder away. They start undermining norms that ensure accountability and try to change the rules to entrench their power further. They appeal to racial nationalism that’s barely veiled, if veiled at all. Sound familiar?”
(It does. It sounds very familiar.)
Obama also pointed out that the economic growth Trump and his family tweet about started under the last administration, mmmkay?
Former Pres. Obama: “When you hear how great the economy is doing right now, let’s just remember when this recovery started.” https://t.co/a4VmXG4UZF pic.twitter.com/sH3fkyxSwg
— ABC News (@ABC) September 7, 2018
Oh, and he also came forth with the hot take that NAZIS ARE BAD.
Obama just called out Trump for his reaction to Charlottesville: “How hard can that be, saying that Nazis are bad?” pic.twitter.com/44J8tXCnUy
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) September 7, 2018
Many people on the internet were grateful to hear a speech from a literate president again.
I listened to @BarackObama today & contrary to what @realDonaldTrump said, he spoke with eloquence, logic, common sense, kindness, humanity and finally spoke out about tRump’s hate and insane policies. Thank you, Mr President for waking us all up to the work ahead of us. VOTE! pic.twitter.com/Jw7Z8I3QNg
— The Commander (@ChocaholicBrit) September 7, 2018
If anybody want to see what a REAL PRESIDENT looks like, talks like and sounds like, I strongly urge you to watch @BarackObama midterm speech of today! https://t.co/TdNGv7L6lr
— Julie Pillay (@Julia3131) September 7, 2018
President Obama popping up like that ex who broke your heart and is still too fucking good for you.
— Sarah (@thetigersez) September 7, 2018
Trump, on his end, responded to Obama’s condemnation of the Republican party’s coddling of white supremacy and the gun lobby with a mature rebuttal: “BORING!!!”
“I watched it but I fell asleep. I’ve found he’s very good, very good for sleeping”
President Trump reacts to former President Obama’s speech ahead of the 2018 midterms: pic.twitter.com/2s79ZdM1oT
— TheBeat w/Ari Melber (@TheBeatWithAri) September 7, 2018
Wow. Burn.
We get it. It can be exhausting trying to keep up with a constitutional law professor using big words. Let’s hope Trump makes it back to the White House in time for his nap.
