Here’s a good one for you. Former President Barack Obama criticized President Donald Trump on — of all things — his foreign policy. He stated that Trump lacks the “patience” and “focus” needed to make substantial changes to U.S. approach to the international community. 

In an appearance with two of his former aides, Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor, on an episode of the “Pod Save America” podcast, Obama slammed Trump for his approach to foreign policy matters. 

“It’s not as if Trump has been all that active internationally. I mean, the truth is he doesn’t have the patience and the focus to really substantially change a lot of U.S. foreign policy,” Obama said, adding that Trump has “systematically tried to decimate our entire foreign policy infrastructure.”

The former president touted his former Vice President, Joe Biden, claiming that he “respects people who know history and have expertise.” 

Obama also referenced reports of Trump referring to Haiti and African countries as “sh*thole countries.” He stated that Biden would “pay attention” to experts on Africa “as opposed to calling it a bunch of — I won’t say the word — countries.” He continued, stating that Biden “has a respect and understanding of what American leadership can do.” 

He also observed that Biden’s positions on foreign policy issues have evolved throughout his time in public service, pointing out that he voted in favor of the Iraq war when he was a senator. Obama affirmed that Biden “learned a lesson from that.” 

He added:

“Among my senior advisers during the course of my presidency, he consistently believed that we should show restraint and humility and think through the use of military power and had huge confidence and faith in the use of diplomacy as a strategy for, you know, showing American leadership. And that instinct, I think, is going to trickle down, partly because he’s going to have to rebuild a State Department that where some of the best people have been driven out systematically because they weren’t willing to toe Trump’s ideological agenda.”

Obama expressed his confidence that Biden will “surround himself with people who are smart and believe in science and believe in expertise” if he is elected. “His North Star will be good,” Obama said. “But at the same time, he’ll have a lot of people around him who are able to translate his good instincts into actual policy that works.”

This is rich coming from a president whose foreign policy was disastrous. Remember when he pulled U.S. troops out of Iraq too early despite the recommendations of his generals? That decision directly led to the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS), a terrorist group responsible for thousands and thousands of brutal deaths in the region. Lone wolf operatives affiliated with the group have carried out terrorist attacks in Europe, the United States, and several other countries. 

In fact, Obama’s soft stance on ISIS created more of a problem than had existed before he pulled troops from Iraq. Under Trump’s administration, the organization was finally decimated to the point that they occupy almost no territory today. 

Moreover, the furor over the president’s alleged comments about Haiti and African nations is rather cute. Trump may or may not have made the comments — the reports were never proven — but one can easily agree that calling a country a sh*thole is a  far cry from actually turning a country into a sh*thole. 

Libya, anyone? 

The country wasn’t exactly a Disney theme park before Obama decided to bomb it into oblivion, but now, it is a failed nation rife with violence and the reinstitution of slavery and human trafficking. In other words, Libya is now a sh*thole, thanks to the former president. 

Also, it’s worth pointing out that Trump has yet to start a new war, which is tremendous for those who have grown weary of unnecessary military entanglements. Last month, the White House announced that we would be removing more troops from Afghanistan and possibly Iraq. While Trump has not brought back the troops as quickly as many would like, it’s unlikely that Biden will decrease our military involvement abroad in a meaningful way if he were to win in November. 

So yes, it’s laughable that Obama is criticizing Trump on foreign policy. Instead, perhaps the former president might do better to find other areas of attack since he is hitting the campaign trail to support Biden. 

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

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