Barack Obama Gets Angry – Newsweek

Former President Barack Obama sharply rebuked Donald Trump as he campaigned for Kamala Harris in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Obama made battleground Pennsylvania the first stop on his tour of the swing states with less than four weeks until Election Day and with voting already underway. This comes as polls show Harris and Trump in a tight race that could be decided by small margins in swing states.

Speaking at a rally at the University of Pittsburgh, Obama called Harris “a leader who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a chance.”

He portrayed his Republican opponent as egotistical and egotistical, saying Trump “hasn’t stopped complaining about his problems since he came down his golden escalator nine years ago.”

Obama’s tone was harsher at some points in his speech, including when he criticized Trump for spreading false claims about the Biden administration’s response after Hurricane Helene “to score political points.”

“Everybody knew it wasn’t true,” Obama said. “Even local Republicans said that wasn’t true, and now the people of Florida are dealing with another devastating storm, and I want you to watch what happens in the next few days… you will have leaders who will try to help, and then… you there is a guy who will lie about this to gain political points and that has consequences.

“The idea of ​​trying to intentionally deceive people in their most desperate and vulnerable moments. And my question is: when did this become OK?”

He went on to question why Trump’s Republican colleagues agree with Trump’s behavior.

“When Donald Trump lies, cheats or shows complete disregard for our Constitution, when he calls prisoners of war losers or fellow citizens vermin, people make excuses for it,” he said. “They think everything is fine. They think well, at least he owns the libraries.”

Obama said Trump’s penchant for intimidating and putting people down was not a real strength.

“True strength lies in working hard and carrying a heavy load without complaining,” he said. “True strength lies in taking responsibility for your actions and telling the truth, even when it is inconvenient. True strength lies in helping people who need it and defending those who cannot always defend themselves. our daughters and our sons, and that’s what I want to see in a President of the United States of America.”

Obama’s office and Trump’s campaign were reached by email for comment.

Some people on social media commented on Obama’s tone.

“Parts of this Obama speech are really intense, even angry,” wrote lawyer Daniel Miller on X, formerly Twitter. “That sounds like a wake-up call, especially when he talks about Trump calling his fellow citizens ‘worms.’”

Symone Sanders-Townsend, MSNBC host The weekend and was previously a senior adviser to Harris, shared a clip of Obama’s X speech.

“This is four minutes where Barack Obama is completely fed up with the shenanigans and is very effective,” Sanders-Townsend wrote.

Singer-songwriter Ricky Davila wrote, “President Obama is upset and scared for our democracy, as we all should be.”

Thomas Gift, associate professor of political science and director of the Center for US Politics at University College London, said News week: “I wouldn’t characterize Obama’s speech as angry. I would characterize it as sincere and displaying a level of concern that he thinks matches the gravity of the moment and the stakes of the election.”

He added: “There was nothing Obama said in Pittsburgh that we haven’t heard from Democrats before. Obama’s tone was perhaps sharper than we are used to seeing, but precisely because he is not known for blunt criticism, he made his speech all the more impactful.”