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/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/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.