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President Obama has often kept his mouth shut for much of Donald Trump’s time in office, rarely giving us a glimpse into what he thinks about his successor. After two mass shootings in less than 24 hours that claimed the lives of 31 people and injured dozens more, Obama issued a statement on Monday.
While the former leader didn’t mention Trump specifically, it is clear that he is calling on Americans everywhere to reject leaders who push hatred as an agenda and are actively working to divide, not unite, the country.
Obama released a statement Monday after President Trump’s own speech, which said that Americans should “soundly reject” any language from leaders who encourage a “climate of fear and hatred”, or any statements that “normalize” racism.
He elaborates that words and behavior that promote racist and divisive beliefs have “no place” in politics or everyday American life.
He wishes that Americans would stand up to leaders pushing these agendas and tell them so, by rejecting their ideals and voting them out of office.
Obama’s statements seem directly related to President Trump’s current campaign platform and continuing rhetoric, which many of said is racist and hateful.
Most recently, the President has called for four US congresswomen of color to ‘go back’ to the broken and dangerous places they came from, despite 3 of the 4 being born in the US and all 4 being US citizens. One was born just miles from where Donald Trump himself was born.
He also suggested in a Tweet yesterday that gun control law be tied to immigration reform, allowing two “great” things to come from the deaths of innocent Americans this past weekend.
