Last week, former President Barack Obama took part in a Q&A at Hamilton College. Obama has not done many public events since the complete destruction of his party at the hands of President Donald Trump last election. After reading through his comments, I walked away with one conclusion: He’s extremely jealous of what Trump is getting done.
Referring to the strong actions the new administration has taken, President Obama had this to say:
“Imagine if I had done any of this. I just want to be clear about this. Imagine if I had pulled Fox News’ credentials from the White House press corps. You’re laughing, but this is what’s happening. Imagine if I had said to law firms that were representing parties that were upset with policies my administration had initiated, that you will not be allowed into government buildings. We will punish you economically for dissenting from the Affordable Care Act or the Iran deal. We will ferret out students who protest against my policies. It’s unimaginable that the same parties that are silent now would have tolerated behavior like that from me, or a whole bunch of my predecessors.”
I’ve had the thought recently that President Obama is watching what Trump is accomplishing and living in the regret of not taking more action. Now, before you get on to me about the clear abuses from the Obama White House, hear me out — I talk about those abuses below. What I’m talking about is just the sheer magnitude of work the Trump White House has taken on every day—they are relentless.
President Trump is known for not getting a lot of sleep; he is a tireless worker—which translates to a staff that must know what’s going on all hours of the day. Imagine the president calling you at 4:30 in the morning with a question you’re expected to know the answer to. That’s a staffer's worst nightmare.
For President Obama and his former team, watching the way Trump has completely changed the executive branch must leave them green with envy. President Trump consistently hosts executive order signings in the Oval Office that turn into hours-long press briefings—he completely controls the press narrative nearly by the hour. Trump is constantly announcing new investments companies are making in America. He’s holding events. He’s announcing DOGE savings. He’s deporting criminal aliens and closing the border. He’s cutting government programs. Hell, he’s cutting entire government agencies. He’s declassifying government documents. He’s demolishing the bureaucracy. He’s doing exactly what he said he would do. This is what Republicans voted for.
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Now, let’s get back to President Obama and his comments at Hamilton College. It’s interesting he even mentions Fox News—I’m sure James Rosen, the Fox News reporter that the White House spied on, would feel differently about his treatment of the media. Or the Little Sisters of the Poor. Or the IRS targeting of conservative groups. Ok, fine—or President Biden pulling the credentials of 400 mostly conservative media reporters from the White House press pool. Obama wants you to forget all of that. But the problem for Obama at the moment? Remembering his legacy at all.
At this point, outside of the Affordable Care Act, I’m not sure anyone would remember a legitimate accomplishment that has remained from the Obama White House. His legacy has been completely decimated. He has become more and more irrelevant among Democrats, which just proves how much Donald Trump has changed the political environment. In mid-March, CNN released a poll conducted by SSRS, and the results are truly staggering.
Democrats, who overwhelmingly consider Trump too extreme, have yet to consolidate around any one-party leader to serve as a counterpoint. Asked in an open-ended question to name the Democratic leader they feel “best reflects the core values” of the party, 10% of Democratic-aligned adults name New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 9% former vice president Kamala Harris, 8% Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and 6% House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Another 4% each name former president Barack Obama and Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, with Schumer joining a handful of others at 2%.
Excuse me? Former President Barack Obama is tied with Rep. Jasmine Crockett? The “skin-folk that are not our kin-folk,” lady? Forget that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is leading the poll (I love this poll and hope it’s true, by the way) the biggest news here is how low President Obama polled. Dollar Store Obama, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, beats him by two percentage points.
I knew his credibility took a hit during the campaign when he kept parroting the “very fine people” hoax, but this is astounding. In his old age, President Bill Clinton is still mostly relevant to his party. For President Obama to be this irrelevant, this soon after his administration, it has to leave him with enormous regret.
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