President Obama made an unprecedented foray into domestic politics on Tuesday night, and the substance was nothing short of spectacular.
In a speech he gave at the Connecticut Forum in Hartford, the former president urged everyone from institutions to universities to legislators to make “uncomfortable” sacrifices in order to protect a democracy that he claimed was coming under more and more attack during the second term of President Trump. Without mentioning Trump by name, he implied that the United States was “dangerously close” to a more dictatorial administration.
In a copy of his speech made public by his administration, Obama stated, “What’s happening is that we now have a situation in which all of us are going to be tested in some way, and we are going to have to then decide what our commitments are.”
“You know it’s a commitment when you do it when it’s hard, not just when it’s easy, trendy, or cool. It will be uncomfortable for a time, but that’s when you’ll know it’s worth it.”
Obama made a point of mentioning that law firms that don’t comply with Trump’s demands will face lower billings, “which means you cannot remodel that kitchen in your house in the Hamptons this summer.” Additionally, businesses that stand up to the administration’s bullying may face consequences such as investigations centered around politics or the suspension of mergers.
On two occasions, he specifically mentioned those employed by Trump’s Justice Department, presenting them as a defensive line against the president’s assaults on the Constitution.
The most prominent and widely-recognized Democratic personality of the twenty-first century issued a strong rallying cry for widespread opposition. The party is still grappling with an extraordinary leadership vacuum, and this comes at a crucial moment when grassroots protests have accelerated to levels not seen during Trump’s first term.
Nevertheless, his physical appearance was also a little off-kilter.
There is a rationale to the relative silence around Obama’s remarks. He decided to give them at a gathering where filming was off-limits. The sites were strangely selected if the goal was to get this rallying cry known to a wider audience.
The word “Trump” was never spoken by Obama. He spoke about exactly what he meant the whole time. Instead of being explicit about who or what is endangering democracy, he chose to be vague.
He did, however, use winks and nods to indicate things that were probably obvious to everyone.
The current federal government leaders’ statements show a lack of dedication to “our understanding of how a liberal democracy is supposed to work,” Obama stated.
Additionally, he cautioned against the possibility of the administration being “captured by those who, let’s say, have a weak attachment to democracy.”
Obama said, “Well, I don’t even think that’s a controversial statement at this point… ” after receiving a round of applause and shouts. Now that it has been acknowledged, the comment was contentious.
Is it acknowledged by oneself, though? Maybe among a crowd that would actually show up to witness Barack Obama.
Well, that’s not the case across the nation. Nearly half of Americans (49%) saw American democracy as being “under attack,” according to a recent HEADLINESFOREVER poll by SSRS. Even if it’s lower than the majority of surveys this decade, it still seems like a lot.
Since Trump’s 2024 victory has convinced Republicans that democracy is doing OK, Democrats have begun to see this line of reasoning more favorably. Even still, just under 70% of Democrats consider this an urgent danger. Independents, meanwhile, have a quite flat trend line.
The way Obama carried himself after leaving office was spot on with expectations for past presidents. Refraining from criticizing their successors and being above the daily drama is the norm. This is something that Obama has mostly stuck to, with the exception of his campaigns against Trump.
The 44th president is addressing both the threat to our democracy and a watershed point in our nation’s history. He seems hesitant to fully utilize his position at the moment, even if he is arguing that everyone must make a sacrifice during a historic period. To use a metaphor, he is still firmly attached to the status quo.
This alludes to the generals who were under Trump’s command. Although generals aren’t allowed to be active in politics, several of them spent years slowly but surely warning that Trump constituted a fascist threat and was hazardous.
Part of the reason their remarks disappeared from the campaign so fast was because they appeared to want them to. In books, many of these complaints first appeared. No general was holding a news conference or interview. That they didn’t make their argument more strongly cast doubt on their belief that Trump posed such a threat.
Obama’s choice to record these remarks more softly coincides with Democrats who are almost pleading for a strong voice to continually steer these types of signals. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the party to compete with Trump’s barrage of provocations due to the unprecedented leadership vacuum.
It seems like the hole might be filled immediately by one particular character. Obama has the highest approval rating of any sitting president, according to a Gallup poll conducted earlier this year; 6 out of 10 Americans and 1 out of 5 Republicans hold a positive view of him.
His reluctance to become overly active stems from a desire to let the next crop of Democratic leaders take the lead.
However, he appears to be hesitant to venture too far beyond his current level of comfort at the moment.