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Lowenna Waters
Sep 08, 2018
On Friday, the moment we've all been waiting for finally arrived, and Barack Obama called out president Trump by name.
The former Democratic president was talking at a rally at the University of Illinois, and after 20 months of staying silent, he finally came out with a rallying cry of resistance, and called out the toxicity of the Trump administration.
Speaking to the gathered students, he said that he was there to speak as a fellow citizen, not a former president, and urged people to get out and vote in the midterms:
I’m here today because this is one of those pivotal moments where everyone of us as citizens of the United States need to determine who we are.
And as a fellow citizen, not as an ex-president, I’m here to deliver a simple message, and that is you need to vote because our democracy depends on it.
He also argued that if people don't use their vote, things could get even 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?
In a particularly poignant moment, he said that we're supposed to stand up to Nazi sympathisers:
We're supposed to stand up to discrimination. And we're sure as heck supposed to stand up to Nazi sympathisers!Â
How hard can that be! Saying that Nazis are bad!
According to his communications director, Katie Hill, the former president has embarked on a nationwide journey to warn that this moment in our history is 'too perilous for Democratic voters to sit out,' reports The Independent.
And how, you may ask, did the current president respond to such a powerful, rousing, and momentous speech calling for justice and fighting against the status quo?
Just as you'd expect. Childishly.
Speaking at a rally, he said:
I watched it but I fell asleep. I’ve found he’s very good, very good for sleeping.
He continued:
I think he was trying to take some credit... he was trying to take credit for this incredible thing that's happening to our country.
Right...
Many wondered whether the current president drifted off because he just couldn't cope with all the big words Obama used.
Or maybe he was as soothed as the rest of us by Obama's words.
The striking difference between the two men wasn't lost on Twitter users, either. Obama's speech left many pining for days gone by.
HT Someecards
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