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THIS IS WHAT A REAL PRESIDENT SOUNDS LIKE

Obama Delivers Hard-Hitting Speech Attacking Trump – And Anyone Who Doesn’t Vote

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Former President Barack Obama delivered a hard-hitting speech Friday afternoon attacking President Donald Trump by name, and chastising those who enable him, on both sides, including, especially, those who do not bother to vote.

“This is not normal. These are extraordinary times, and they’re dangerous times,” President Obama said. “But here’s the good news. In two months we have the chance, not the certainty, but the chance to restore some semblance of sanity to our politics.”

The two-term Democrat who took America from the brink of financial catastrophe to a well-running economy while improving the civil rights of many Americans received cheers and a rousing ovation after speaking to students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was at the school to receive an award in ethics in government, but took the opportunity to reveal his midterm strategies for the Democrats.

And departing from his usual deference to tradition, the former president mentioned his successor by name, as he attacked him.

“It did not start with Donald Trump. He is a symptom, not the cause,” Obama told students, noting Trump counts on fear and anger.

President Obama tried to build bridges while also reminding listeners that the Trump administration is responsible for the deaths of nearly 3000 Americans in Puerto Rico:

And he attacked bullies, discrimination, and neo-Nazi supporters.

“We are Americans, we’re supposed to stand up to bullies, not follow them. We’re supposed to stand up to discrimination. And we’re sure as heck supposed to stand up clearly and unequivocally to Nazi sympathizers,” President Obama said, to applause. “How hard can that be, saying that Nazis are bad?”

And he urged students to vote for actual gun reform:

He also did not shy away from scolding millennials for not voting – many, he said, out of apathy.

The biggest threat to democracy, Obama told students, is cynicism.

 

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THIS IS WHAT A REAL PRESIDENT SOUNDS LIKE

Biden Destroys Trump for Teargassing Americans at DC Church: He Held Up a Bible – I Just Wish He’d Open One

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June 2, 2020

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Former Vice President Joe Biden blasted President Donald Trump for teargassing Americans protesting the police killing of George Floyd, while peacefully standing in D.C.’s Lafayette Park and at the famous St. John’s church. After clearing the area, Trump walked to the church for a photo-op, and held up a Bible.

Biden slammed Trump for “brandishing” the Bible and said: “I just wish he’d open it every once in awhile.”

“If he opened it he could have learned something.”

The former VP added, “In addition to the Bible, the president might also want to open the U.S. Constitution every once in awhile. If he did, he’d find a thing called the First Amendment.”

“This is a nation of values. Our freedom to speak is a cherished knowledge that lives inside of every American,” Biden declared. “We’re not going to let any president to quiet our voice.”

“They’re all called to ‘love one another, as we love ourselves.’ That’s really hard work. But it’s the work of America. Donald Trump isn’t interested in doing that work,” Biden chastised.

Related –
‘Very Proud of Themselves’: Senior WH Official Says Trump Team Was ‘Celebrating’ Tear Gassing Protestors at Church

Biden earlier criticized the President, who “used tear gas and flash grenades in order to stage a photo-op.”

He also went after Trump for being “more interested in serving the passions of his base than the needs of the people in his care.”

“For that’s what the presidency is: the duty to care,” he said. “To care for all of us. Not just those who vote for us, but all of us.”

Watch:

 

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THIS IS WHAT A REAL PRESIDENT SOUNDS LIKE

Obamas Take Rare, Thinly-Veiled Swipe at Trump After Domestic Terror Mass Shootings: ‘Reject’ Leaders ‘Who Demonize’

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August 5, 2019

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Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama issued a statement in the wake of this weekend’s domestic terror mass shootings that took the lives of now 31 people. Their words are a rare and thinly-veiled swipe at President Donald Trump.

“We should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments,” the Obamas say in their statement, clearly launching an attack against President Trump. They added, “leaders who demonize those who don’t look like us, or suggest that other people, including immigrants, threaten our way of life, or refer to other people as sub-human, or imply that America belongs to just one certain type of people.”

“Such language isn’t new,” they continue, “it’s been at the root of most human tragedy throughout history, here in America and around the world.”

Read their full statement:

Image: “President Barack Obama pauses during a meeting to observe a moment of silence in the Oval Office at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 21, 2012, in remembrance of the 20 children and six adults killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 14.”
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza via Flickr

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As Trump Looks on, President Macron Speaks out on Nationalism.

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November 11, 2018

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French President Emmanuel Macron at Armistice event

As world leaders looked on, French President Emmanuel Macron took a moment in his speech at Armistice Day in France to speak out against the rise of nationalism.

Amongst those in attendance were US president Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism: nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism,” Macron told the crowd. “By saying our interests first, who cares about the others, we erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what makes it great and what is essential: its moral values.”

“I know there are old demons which are coming back to the surface,” added Macron. “They are ready to wreak chaos and death. History sometimes threatens to take its sinister course once again.”

The speech is largely seen as a rebuke of Donald Trump. Trump declared himself a nationalist near the end of November.

“A globalist is a person that wants the globe to do well, frankly, not caring about our country so much. And you know what? We can’t have that,” Trump said at a Houston, Texas rally on the 23rd of October.

“You know, they have a word — it’s sort of became old-fashioned — it’s called a nationalist. And I say, really, we’re not supposed to use that word. You know what I am? I’m a nationalist, okay? I’m a nationalist. Nationalist. Nothing wrong. Use that word. Use that word.”

The president did not show an immediate reply, sitting quietly, often with his head down during Macron’s speech. There has not yet been a reply from the White House to Macron’s statements.

Donald Trump has been resoundingly criticized for not taking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I seriously. He skipped out of a visit to an American military cemetery outside of Paris yesterday due to a threatened rainstorm, and did not walk with other world leaders in France today.

View all of Marcon’s speech.

Image via screen capture from video source.

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