Former President Barack Obama (D) is expected to deliver a stinging rebuke to President Donald Trump during his speech at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night.
In an excerpt from Obama’s speech, the former president says, “I have sat in the Oval Office with both of the men who are running for president. I never expect that my successor would embrace my vision or continue my policies.”
“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,” Obama continued.
“But he never did. 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.”
“Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t. And the consequences of that failure are severe,” Obama added.
As a result of what he says is Trump’s failed leadership, Obama noted that the coronavirus has led to 170,000 deaths, millions of job losses, and “our worst impulses unleashed.”
Here are advance excerpts of Obama’s criticism of Trump tonight: pic.twitter.com/73PU7FsFUj
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 19, 2020
Obama, who shunned the political spotlight for the first years of Trump’s tenure, has been more willing to speak out and criticize the president’s actions, as IJR reported.
And he is not the only member of the Obama family to speak out, former First Lady Michelle Obama took aim at Trump on Monday and said Trump is the “wrong president for our country.“
Trump shot back at the former first lady, “Somebody please explain to @MichelleObama that Donald J. Trump would not be here, in the beautiful White House, if it weren’t for the job done by your husband, Barack Obama.”