President Barack Obama's searing convention speech Wednesday night where he denounced his successor as someone who would not take his ...
President Barack Obama's searing convention speech Wednesday night where he denounced his successor as someone who would not take his office seriously infuriated President Trump, who fired off angry all-caps tweets blasting Obama and Kamala Harris.
'HE SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN, AND GOT CAUGHT!' Trump fumed on Twitter as Obama stood in front of a stone engraving of Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution and cast a second Trump term as a grave threat to the threat to American democracy.
The tweet was a reference to what Trump terms 'Obamagate' in near-daily attacks on the FBI and investigators who probed his campaign for Russia ties in 2016.
President Trump responded to Obama's speech in a string of tweets written in all caps
Trump's online outburst came on a night when Obama delivered a critical speech where he went far beyond where any recent president has gone in repudiating his successor. Speaking from Philadelphia, Obama said Trump had 'no interest in putting in the work' and lacked sufficient reverence for the office he holds.
A follow-on tweet sought to sow divisions between Obama and his former vice president on a night when Demoratic nominee Joe Biden was trying to unify a broad coalition behind him.
'WHY DID HE REFUSE TO ENDORSE SLOW JOE UNTIL IT WAS ALL OVER, AND EVEN THEN WAS VERY LATE? WHY DID HE TRY TO GET HIM NOT TO RUN?' he wrote.
The 'SLOW JOE' attack was just the latest insult Trump has hurled at Biden's intellect, after unveiling a campaign ad that portrays him as falling apart.
Obama remained neutral for most of the Democratic primary. In the run-up to 2016, he took steps that in many ways set the table for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to emerge as her party's front-runner. Biden ultimately begged off on running after the death of his son, Beau.
Biden said during the campaign that he had asked Obama to stay out, but ended up outlasting rivals and ultimately defeating Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Barack Obama unleashed his most direct, harshest to date on the man who followed him into the Oval Office in his speech to the Democratic National Convention
Trump also went after Sen. Kamala Harris while she sought to introduce herself to the nation with her speech, while speaking glowingly about her former primary rival.
'BUT DIDN’T SHE CALL HIM A RACIST??? DIDN’T SHE SAY HE WAS INCOMPETENT???'
Harris did not call Biden a racist, but she did attack him during a debate for his work with segregationists during his decades-long Senate career. Biden himself brought up his ability to work with people he disagreed with, but was forced to clean up his comments. Harris also hit him with a blistering attack on his decades-old position on school bussing while he was a senator from Delaware.
Obama delivered a speech that elevated grave dangers he said Trump posed to the world and to democracy, even as he testified to Biden's character and ability in a way the Biden camp hopes will provide some of the enthusiasm that drove Democrats to the polls in 2008 and 2012.
‘This administration has shown it will tear our democracy down if that’s what it takes to win,’ he charged in his nearly 20 minute speech.
He told Americans the only way to restore the country was to elect Biden and Harris in November.
‘We have to get busy building it up – by pouring all our effort into these 76 days, and by voting like never before – for Joe and Kamala, and candidates up and down the ticket, so that we leave no doubt about what this country we love stands for – today and for all our days to come,' he said.
Obama's criticism was his most direct, harshest to date on the man who followed him into the Oval Office, having earlier tried to hew to traditions of holding back criticism of his successor.
Trump has repeatedly accused Obama and top national security officials of treason, including claiming that if their party status were reversed they would be in jail.
Former President Barack Obama spoke from the Museum of the American Revolution Wednesday night as part of the virtual Democratic National Convention
Obama charged Trump hasn’t grown into the job of president of the United States ‘because he can’t’ and he’s shown ‘no interest in putting in the work’ to be an effective leader.
‘I have sat in the Oval Office with both of the men who are running for president,’ Obama said, making a personal connection to the two candidates running for his old job.
‘I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously; that he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed in his care,’ he said.
‘Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t,’ Obama said.
He charged President Trump, the former star of NBC’s ‘The Apprentice,’ with running a ‘reality show’ out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue merely for the sake of his ego.
‘For close to four years now, he’s shown no interest in putting in the work; no interest in finding common ground; no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends; no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves,’ Obama said.
Trump issued his response via Twitter – sending out messages in all caps as Obama spoke.
‘HE SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN, AND GOT CAUGHT!,’ Trump roared, referring to an FBI counter investigation into his 2016 presidential campaign to see if Russia was trying to influence the election.
‘WHY DID HE REFUSE TO ENDORSE SLOW JOE UNTIL IT WAS ALL OVER, AND EVEN THEN WAS VERY LATE? WHY DID HE TRY TO GET HIM NOT TO RUN?,’ Trump added.
Traditionally, the nominee of the other party stays quiet during their rival’s convention week. Trump threw that rule out the window this week with his trips to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Arizona to criticize Biden. The president will give an interview to Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Thursday night – the night Biden accepts the Democrats’ presidential nomination - and he'll visit Pennsylvania that day too, making a stop near Biden's hometown of Scranton.
President Obama gave a cool, calm, structured argument that outlined why he believed President Trump was not qualified to serve in the Oval Office
Obama charged President Trump, the former star of NBC’s ‘The Apprentice,’ with running a ‘reality show’ out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue merely for the sake of his ego; above Donald Trump is seen with contestants from Season 13 of the show in October 2012
Barack Obama spoke from the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, in front of an exhibit entitled ‘Writing the Constitution,’ in one of the few live speeches in the virtual convention
Obama spoke from the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, in front of an exhibit entitled ‘Writing the Constitution,’ in one of the few live speeches in the virtual convention.
He gave a cool, calm, structured argument that outlined why he believed President Trump was not qualified to serve in the Oval Office.
‘The one Constitutional office elected by all of the people is the presidency. So at minimum, we should expect a president to feel a sense of responsibility for the safety and welfare of all 330 million of us – regardless of what we look like, how we worship, who we love, how much money we have – or who we voted for,’ he said.
‘We should also expect a president to be the custodian of this democracy. We should expect that regardless of ego, ambition, or political beliefs, the president will preserve, protect, and defend the freedoms and ideals that so many Americans marched for and went to jail for; fought for and died for,’ he noted.
Obama, a former law professor, began his remarks with a legal argument but transition to an endorsement of Biden’s character and qualifications to be president.
He called his former vice president his ‘brother’ and spoke of his empathy.
‘Twelve years ago, when I began my search for a vice president, I didn’t know I’d end up finding a brother,’ Obama said. ‘Joe and I came from different places and different generations. But what I quickly came to admire about him is his resilience, born of too much struggle; his empathy, born of too much grief.’
He made his support the Biden/Harris ticket clear.
‘For eight years, Joe was the last one in the room whenever I faced a big decision. He made me a better president – and he’s got the character and the experience to make us a better country. And in my friend Kamala Harris, he’s chosen an ideal partner who’s more than prepared for the job; someone who knows what it’s like to overcome barriers and who’s made a career fighting to help others live out their own American dream,’ he said.
Obama targeted Trump’s most controversial moments as president when he noted a ‘Commander-in-Chief doesn’t use the men and women of our military, who are willing to risk everything to protect our nation, as political props to deploy against peaceful protesters on our own soil. They understand that political opponents aren’t “un-American” just because they disagree with you; that a free press isn’t the “enemy” but the way we hold officials accountable; that our ability to work together to solve big problems like a pandemic depends on a fidelity to facts and science and logic and not just making stuff up.’
He said he understood why there was cynicism and despair in the United States under Trump’s presidency, saying he understood ‘why a Black mother might feel like it never looked out for her at all. I understand why a new immigrant might look around this country and wonder whether there’s still a place for him here; why a young person might look at politics right now, the circus of it all, the meanness and the lies and crazy conspiracy theories and think, what’s the point?’
But he warned that attitude was being fostered by President Trump to keep Americans from voting.
‘This president and those in power – those who benefit from keeping things the way they are – they are counting on your cynicism. They know they can’t win you over with their policies. So they’re hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote, and to convince you that your vote doesn’t matter. That’s how they win,’ he argued.
He urged Americans – like his wife Michelle Obama did in her speech on Monday night – to have a plan to vote.
‘Do not let them take away your power. Don’t let them take away your democracy. Make a plan right now for how you’re going to get involved and vote. Do it as early as you can and tell your family and friends how they can vote too,’ he said.
‘Stay safe. God bless,’ he ended.
Ahead of his remarks, convention organizers showed a video from the January 13, 2017 White House ceremony when then-President Obama honoured Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the nation’s highest civil honor.
Biden officially earned his party's nomination during a virtual roll call vote Tuesday night.
Philadelphia was where Obama gave one of his most important speeches: when he talked about race when he ran for president in 2008.
President Obama gave one of his most consequential speeches of his Democratic primary fight against Hillary Clinton in 2008 in Philadelphia, where he spoke about race in America
President Obama will say in his speech he sat with both men in the Oval Office - he met with President-elect Trump on November 10, 2016
Then-President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in the Oval Office in January 2015
Hillary Clinton is seen waving to supporters on the last night of her 2016 campaign in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
President Obama (left) appeared with 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton (right) on the last night of the 2016 campaign at an outdoor rally in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, just blocks away from where he'll address the 2020 DNC
Joe Biden (left) and Jill Biden (right), a Philadelphia native, greet throngs of supporters in Philadelphia in May 2019 as the former vice president kicked off his presidential campaign
Philadelphia was also the site of the Democrats' convention four years ago.
And Obama appeared alongside Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton and his wife Michelle, on the eve of election night in 2016, at a packed, outdoor rally on the campus of Independence Hall.
But that last minute stop didn't help her campaign.
Pennsylvania was the state that helped hand Trump the Oval Office - he was the first Republican to win it in more than 20 years. Biden, a native of Scranton, will try to put it back in Democrats' corner in November.
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