r/politics • u/Quirkie The Netherlands • 1d ago

Soft Paywall Obama Breaks Silence on Trump’s ‘Unimaginable’ Presidency - “Imagine if I had done any of this,” the former two-term president said.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/obama-breaks-silence-on-trumps-unimaginable-presidency/
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u/Reasonable-Bus-2187 1d ago

Thanks, Obama,

for saying something

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u/glass_gravy 1d ago

Finally.

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u/SchroedingersSphere 1d ago edited 1d ago

Probably going to get downvoted for saying this, I understand wanting to step down from politics, but a lot of people looked to Obama for words of encouragement and it's a little disappointing how long it took him to stand up and say something. Especially since Obama is the only person that really terrifies Trump. He could have made a bigger impact by speaking up sooner. Either way, thanks Obama.

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u/TheMarkHasBeenMade America 1d ago

A bigger impact on who? The people who are all ready watching all this in horror? We know all ready. Barry saying something about it doesn’t change anything - no one who was on the fence or on the other side of it before is going to idly watch everything Trump has done without reaction but then all of a sudden have a “woke” moment because Obama spoke up about it.

Did anyone honestly believe Obama would do anything but condemn this massive crock of bullshit?

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u/SchroedingersSphere 1d ago edited 1d ago

Truthfully, this is all anecdotal. I live in the south, and there are a lot of people here who voted for Obama but not Biden. I don't understand their thought process, so don't ask why, but I've heard from multiple family members that they "just couldn't vote for that woman. I voted for Obama and I gave my vote to Trump this time. I'd vote for him if he ran against Trump in a third election." Pointing out that this violates the Constitution just makes them confused and mad.

The sad thing is, they say this with pride, like I should pat them on the head because they voted Democrat and Republican. Like they were neutral and not biased, therefore their opinion is more valid. I try not to fall into the trap of talking politics with them, but they voluntarily give me these details against my will.

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u/DEAD_VANDAL 1d ago

An unfortunate amount of Americans would legitimately rather a rapist pedophile as president instead of a woman.

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u/AlarmingAerie 1d ago

We all know that, it's baffling they tried running with a women again. The society clearly got even more sexists since Hillary.

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u/DEAD_VANDAL 1d ago

I think more than anything it was complacency, they wrongly assumed (as did a lot of people) that Trump was seen as such a joke that he didn’t stand a remote chance of winning again. I saw it the same way up until Election Day, cause it seemed genuinely unfathomable that any country could elect such a monster AGAIN.

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u/AlarmingAerie 1d ago

he was actually favorite to win entire time everywhere except reddit.

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u/sammythemc 1d ago

I live in the south, and there are a lot of people here who voted for Obama but not Biden. I don't understand their thought process, so don't ask why, but I've heard from multiple family members that they "just couldn't vote for that woman.

I think a lot of Americans judge their politicians on perceived "outsider" status. It's graded on a curve of course (Trump has been part of the establishment for years as a rich white guy real estate mogul, Obama gave the keynote address at the 2004 DNC so had a good amount of backing from the party), but for a lot of people who see the country as going downhill, they just look at politicians and vote for the one who seems the most iconoclastic. Hillary's status as the would-be first female president wasn't enough to overcome how she represented the business-as-usual establishment, so those Obama/Trump voters rejected her.

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u/IsaacAndTired 1d ago

Obama was pretty damn present on the campaign trail for an election that had nothing to do with him. I guess what I'd ask is, what are you trying to convey with this comment? Are you suggesting Obama could have done more to win over the votes of your family? If so, can you give a specific example of something he could have done?

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u/Imtherealwaffle 22h ago

I think its just a question of likeability / charisma. In completely opposite ways, both obama and trump had some kind of "star power" and popularity compared to other candidates. Someone like ron desantis or jd vance could do a 1:1 copy of trumps campaign and I would bet they wouldnt get nearly as many votes. Same thing for kamala compared to obama and to a lesser extent biden. They just weren't likeable enough to cultivate a big following.

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u/boli99 12h ago

I don't understand their thought process

they vote for people. celebrity status. shiny things.

they have no real interest on the issues or policies.

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u/mrtomjones 1d ago

He could be the start of actual protests etc. Would be nice as an outsider

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u/TheMarkHasBeenMade America 1d ago

So what about all of the protests that have been happening time and again across our massive country since all this started? They don’t mean anything? Nothing counts until there’s one million people storming the capital while Trump is golfing in Florida?

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u/sammythemc 1d ago

So what about all of the protests that have been happening time and again across our massive country since all this started? They don’t mean anything?

I wouldn't say they don't mean anything, but most of those demonstrations have been relatively small, a few hundred people here and there. Nothing you could compare to eg the George Floyd protests, which unfortunately were taken by many as an object lesson in how people power hitting the streets is more likely to be met with bear mace than an open policy dialogue with the powers that be.

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u/TheMarkHasBeenMade America 1d ago

There have been many that were several thousand-strong at numerous points over the last several months.

Hell, some of the rallies AOC and Bernie hosted pulled in several tens of thousands of attendees.

If you haven’t heard about those you haven’t been paying attention.

Are you attending any of these protests and marches? Or are you just complaining that other people aren’t doing enough?

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u/sammythemc 18h ago

I'm not complaining, I'm just describing the reality of the situation. These protests are substantially smaller than other recent protests that didn't work, people are substantially more cynical about the effect of a few hundred people in the streets (or thousands at a rally, which Harris pulled before losing) than they were even just 5 years ago.

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u/mrtomjones 21h ago

There are at least 5 countries that i can think of off the top of my head that have had protests that are bigger in one city than all the US ones combined. Your population is bigger.. You have some of the biggest cities in the world. The excuses or asking for credit are pathetic IMO

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u/TheMarkHasBeenMade America 20h ago

Yeah, and what are the sizes of those countries compared to the size of the entire USA?

And how many of those countries were built specifically for personal commuter traffic where pretty much all accessible infrastructure can only be reached with a personal car instead of mass public transportation and easily accessible and widespread foot paths?

And how many of those countries have citizens’ healthcare tied directly to their employment, in that if someone were to skip work for a day or two or a week or two on short notice they would very likely get fired and have no access to affordable health needs?

And how many of those countries’ governments are chomping at the fucking bit to unleash the largest and most powerful military in the world on mass protesting citizens as a means of declaring martial law that in all likelihood would succeed instantly and plunge their country even further into authoritarian takeover?

Every person spouting on and on about how Americans are lazy and entitled because they aren’t protesting by the millions in single cities is an ignorant asshole who thinks they’re comparing apples to apples but they’re actually comparing apples to fucking watermelons and they don’t care to consider the very real limitations that are unique to our country compared to pretty much anywhere else in the world.

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u/Yamza_ 1d ago

Yeah, that's the thing. We all know what Obama would say. Does him saying it really do anything? No, not really. Just leave him alone, this isn't his fight anymore.

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u/BedlamiteSeer 1d ago

He is a politically active citizen of this country with a massive amount of soft power and influence. It IS his fight as much as anyone's. We NEED him.

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u/Yamza_ 1d ago

WE failed him in 2016 and 2024. WHY should he come back for us. We don't deserve him.

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u/BedlamiteSeer 1d ago

I don't agree, I am not going to write off everyone because some assholes have seized control. That's insanity.

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u/Yamza_ 1d ago

Obama is not our daddy, just like Trump is not our daddy. This is a problem that we need to solve ourselves. I'm not saying everyone should be written off, I'm saying what is happening is what we actually deserve. If we want better then we need to do and be better.