Barack Obama has delivered a stinging rebuke of president Donald Trump in a speech delivered in Philadelphia while campaigning for Joe Biden. Obama criticised Trump's handling of the coronavirus crisis as well as divisive behaviour including retweeting conspiracy theories that you wouldn't tolerate from anyone “except from a crazy uncle". The former president also praised the positivity shown during the pandemic and recent Black Lives Matter movement . "We see that what is best is us is still there, but we've got to give it voice."
Continue reading...Category Archives: Barack Obama
‘Trump isn’t going to protect us’: Obama returns to campaign trail for Biden
Former president told voters in swing state Pennsylvania: ‘What we do now these next 13 days will matter for decades to come’
Barack Obama returned to the campaign trail on Wednesday to deliver a scathing – and occasionally humorous – condemnation of his successor while envisioning an America led by his former vice-president, Joe Biden.
Sleeves rolled and wearing a black mask that read VOTE, Obama assailed Donald Trump over his response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 220,000 Americans and infected millions more, including the president.
Continue reading...Voting ‘makes things better’: Barack Obama praises youth – video
Barack Obama has praised young Black Lives Matter demonstrators saying they gave him 'optimism', during a discussion with black male community leaders ahead of a drive-in rally for Joe Biden on Wednesday night.
At his Philadelphia campaign event, Obama emphasized the need for young voters to make it to the polls to ensure a better future for the country
Continue reading...Michelle Obama on marriage: ‘There are times when you can’t stand each other’
Former first lady says in latest episode of her podcast that marriage should be approached like picking a basketball team
Michelle Obama said there have been times when she wanted to “push Barack out of the window” and that marriage should be approached like picking a basketball team in a frank discussion about relationships.
In the latest episode of her Spotify podcast, the former first lady said young couples, especially when they have small children, struggle to deal with tiredness, stress and sharing roles and they give up on their relationship.
Continue reading...DNC 2020: from emotional speeches backing Biden to fiery warnings on Trump – video highlights
A unique Democratic national convention gave countless memorable moments, from Kamala Harris's historic nomination as vice-president, to Michelle Obama's harsh words for Donald Trump. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and former president Barack Obama echoed her words by giving scathing reviews of the Trump administration. Others who showed their support for Harris and Joe Biden's nomination included healthcare activist Ady Barkan, former US congresswoman and shooting survivor Gabby Giffords, comedian Sarah Cooper, actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus and singer Billie Eilish
Continue reading...Kamala Harris makes history, Barack Obama slams Trump: day three at the DNC – video highlights
Kamala Harris officially accepted her vice-presidential nomination on the third day of the Democratic national convention. Her husband, Douglas Emhoff, joined her on stage alongside Joe Biden and his wife, Jill. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Gabrielle Giffords were among the many figures who condemned Donald Trump's presidency and pledged their support for the Biden-Harris ticket
- Harris makes history and Obama issues warning: key takeaways from the DNC's third night
- Kamala Harris makes history at DNC after Barack Obama rallies voters against Trump – as it happened
Barack Obama’s fiery DNC speech in full – video
Barack Obama delivered a powerful message calling for voters to protect American democracy during the third night of the Democratic national convention. The former president argued that Donald Trump’s potential re-election posed an existential threat to the country’s democratic values and institutions, and he implored voters to 'embrace your own responsibility as citizens'
Continue reading...Obama’s stark message: America must save itself from Trump | Analysis
Analysis: The former president issued an unprecedented attack on his successor as he urged voters to rescue their democracy
Just four years ago, amid balloons, confetti, dry ice smoke and giant TV screens, Donald Trump struck an authoritarian tone as he accepted the nomination at the Republican national convention before a frenzied crowd. It prompted warnings of the impending death of democracy, and the end of America’s gloriously chequered 244-year journey. But no one really believed it.
However, Barack Obama is now clearly taking the fall of Rome theory seriously. No former US president has criticised his successor at a party convention as he did on Wednesday night, and none has warned that his successor “will tear our democracy down if that’s what it takes to win”.
Continue reading...Kamala Harris accepts vice-presidential nomination on historic night
Democratic nominee urges voters to reject Donald Trump and says: ‘We can do better and deserve so much more’
Kamala Harris, a California senator and daughter of immigrants who has broken racial barriers at every step of her political career, made US history on Wednesday night as she became the first Black woman and first Asian American to formally accept a major party’s vice-presidential nomination.
In the most consequential speech of her career to date, Harris urged voters to reject the divisive and destructive leadership of Donald Trump, calling him a president who “turns our tragedies into political weapons”.
Continue reading...Barack Obama condemns Trump in powerful Democratic convention speech – video
The former president spoke at the Democratic national convention and cast Donald Trump as someone who will 'tear our democracy down if that's what it takes to win' and urges Americans to get out and vote in November
Continue reading...Democratic national convention day three: Barack Obama & Kamala Harris lead speeches – watch in full
Democrats stage the third night of their online convention after formally nominating Joe Biden as the presidential candidate for November’s election. The main speakers on Wednesday include Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi
Continue reading...Obama and Trump highlight two Americas as election draws nearer
Analysis: as the former president eulogized a civil rights hero, his beleaguered successor seemed intent on undermining faith in democracy
- Join us for a live digital event with the former US attorney general Eric Holder to discuss voter suppression in the 2020 election, Thursday at 5pm ET. Register now
They were six hours that defined two Americas as well as exposing the magnitude of the decision facing voters in November.
At 8.30am on Thursday, the US government announced that gross domestic product had suffered the biggest decline on record because of a coronavirus-induced shutdown. Minutes later, Donald Trump warned on Twitter that “2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history” – and suggested that it should be postponed.
Continue reading...Obama, Bush and Clinton speak at funeral for congressman John Lewis – video
Former US presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush, Bill Clinton and House speaker Nancy Pelosi have delivered eulogies for congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis. Hailing him as founding father for 'a fuller, fairer, better' America, Obama praised Lewis's influence on his own path to the presidency. Clinton said Lewis believed 'none of us will be free until all of us are equal', while Bush said he lived in a better and nobler country because of the congressman
Barack Obama: John Lewis fought for our highest ideals | Barack Obama
In a transcript of his remarks at the congressman’s funeral, the former president calls on Americans to follow Lewis’s lead at a time of crisis
Representative John Lewis, a legendary civil rights leader and member of Congress, died of cancer on 17 July. In a eulogy at his memorial on Thursday, Barack Obama spoke about Lewis’s legacy, especially the importance of continuing his fight to protect voting rights. This is an abridged version of his remarks.
James wrote to the believers: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”
Continue reading...Obama attacks police brutality and voter suppression in powerful eulogy for John Lewis – video
During the funeral of congressman John Lewis, former US president Barack Obama delivered a powerful eulogy in which he praised the late civil rights icon, saying Lewis 'will be a founding father of a fuller, fairer, better America'.
In his speech, Obama also received standing ovations for his indirect criticism of the Trump administration's decision to send federal agents to peaceful demonstrations in Portland, and his condemnation of voter suppression tactics in the US
Continue reading...Obama hails John Lewis as founding father of ‘fuller, better’ US in eulogy
Former president called for Americans to fight Trump’s effort to undermine the right to vote in eulogy at congressman’s funeral
Barack Obama hailed John Lewis as a founding father of “a fuller, better” United States in a soaring eulogy on Thursday, while forcefully calling on Americans to stand up to the forces threatening a cause the late congressman was willing to die for: the right to vote.
From the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta, where Martin Luther King Jr once preached, Obama traced the arch of Lewis’s life – a child born into the Jim Crow south, the youngest speaker at the March on Washington in 1963, a leader of the civil rights marches in Selma, and a US congressman from Georgia – tying his legacy to the present-day civil rights protests ignited by the death of George Floyd, a black man under the knee of a white police officer. He then drew a line from the racist leaders who opposed civil rights in the 1960s to the policies and ideologies embraced by Donald Trump.
Continue reading...Barack Obama leads tributes to civil rights leader John Lewis – live
- Democratic congressman Lewis dies aged 80
- John Lewis: from civil rights titan to Black Lives Matter
- US faces terrifying autumn as Covid-19 surges
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Donald Trump has broken his silence on the passing of John Lewis with a tweet posted moments ago.
“Saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing,” he wrote. “Melania and I send our prayers to he and his family.
Saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing. Melania and I send our prayers to he and his family.
Joe Biden will run campaign ads during Donald Trump’s eagerly awaited interview with Fox News Sunday tomorrow – to go a bit Friends for a second, that being The One In Which Trump Says Biden Wants To Defund The Police And Chris Wallace Says Hang On A Minute, Not So, And Trump Gets A Little Testy.
Related: Trump clashes with Fox News interviewer over false claim about Biden
Related: 'The virus doesn't care about excuses': US faces terrifying autumn as Covid-19 surges
Continue reading...Knife-edge Polish presidential race could slow the march of populism
As liberal Rafał Trzaskowski gains on rightwing Andrzej Duda, LGBT rights are among issues at stake in Poland and beyond
When Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, goes up against his liberal challenger in a presidential run-off next Sunday, there will be more at stake than just the medium-term political trajectory of the country. The vote is set to be one of the closest and most important European elections in recent years, and the result will resonate well beyond Poland’s borders.
Duda takes on liberal challenger Rafał Trzaskowski in a race that numerous polls suggest is too close to call. The final outcome will be watched closely by European leaders wary of Poland’s recent political direction, and by progressive politicians worldwide seeking lessons about what does or doesn’t work in taking on populists at the ballot box.
Continue reading...Joe Biden and Barack Obama raise $11m in first 2020 fundraiser together
In official return to the campaign trail, former president urged 175,000 viewers not to be ‘complacent’ about 2020 race
Barack Obama made his first campaign appearance alongside Joe Biden since endorsing him for president in April, helping raise more than $11m while warning Democrats against being “complacent or smug” about the presidential race.
The virtual fundraiser collected $7.6m from 175,000 grassroots contributors according to the Biden campaign. The former president and the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee also hosted a private online portion for high-dollar donors, which was not open to reporters, and brought in more than $3.4m.
Continue reading...Obamas urge class of 2020 to ‘create a new normal’ after coronavirus and George Floyd – video
In a virtual commencement address, the former president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle discuss Covid-19 and the issue of race in the US and say young people should build the society they wish to see
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