Obama makes no mention of Trump in first major post-presidential appearance

By Chris Kenning

REUTERS

 

Former President Barack Obama speaks during a meeting with youth leaders at the Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago to discuss strategies for community organization and civic engagement in Chicago, Illinois, April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski

 

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Barack Obama, making his first major appearance since leaving the White House, made no mention on Monday of his successor, Donald Trump, but urged young people to get more involved in their communities at a time of stark political divides.

 

“What’s been going on since I’ve been gone?” joked the former Democratic president as he moderated an event at the University of Chicago in the city where he began his political career and which will be the site of his presidential library.

 

Obama, who once taught constitutional law at the school, recalled starting out as a young community organizer in the city and told a panel of six current and former students that he decided to focus his post-presidency on encouraging young people to engage with their communities.

 

"The single most important thing I can do is to help in any way prepare the next generation of leadership to take up the baton and to take their own crack at changing the world," he told an audience of several hundred people.

 

Obama has largely stayed out of the public eye since leaving office in January despite efforts by Trump and the Republican-led Congress to undo much of his legacy, including on healthcare and the environment.

 

Trump, a Republican, has said he "inherited a mess" and accused Obama in March, without providing evidence, of wiretapping his 2016 presidential campaign. Obama has denied the charge and FBI Director James Comey told a congressional hearing he had seen no evidence to support the allegation.

 

Obama was not asked about Trump by the students and he took no questions from reporters.

 

Saying it had long been his goal to bridge the country's deep political divide, Obama said: "It’s harder and harder to find common ground because of the money in politics."

 

"Special interests dominate the debates in Washington in ways that don’t match up with what the broad majority of Americans feel,” he said.

 

Obama added that changes in the way people use media allow them to converse just with those who agree with their own points of view.

 

On Sunday, as part of a program to help at-risk young people, Obama met privately with men from Chicago's troubled South Side to discuss solutions for the violence and joblessness that have marked that neighbourhood.

 

The former president, who together with his wife, Michelle, recently struck a two-book, $65 million memoir deal, is expected to travel to Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel next month.

 

(Reporting by Chris Kenning in Chicago; Editing by Ben Klayman and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-04-25

1 hour ago, webfact said:

“What’s been going on since I’ve been gone?”

Well, the moss was kicked out the rolling stones and at last, we see a president how doesn't only talk and talk and talk and dose nothing, Flash news Mr. Obama, the world hasn't missed one bit of you sir.... and for all we care, you can very well stay gone....

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

Well, the moss was kicked out the rolling stones and at last, we see a president how doesn't only talk and talk and talk and dose nothing, Flash news Mr. Obama, the world hasn't missed one bit of you sir.... and for all we care, you can very well stay gone....

Your statement would have been truer if you had said we now see a president who lies and lies and does nothing. Like no legislation passed, only public relation disasters every time. For all his faults, Obama was a Statesman who commanded respect overseas, but his replacement is seen by most of the world as a complete clown with no real knowledge of the world and who is incapable of telling the truth. I don't think Trump can be considered an improvement. Obama has diplomatically kept away from the subject of criticising or commenting on Trump, which would have been a much different story were the roles reversed.

“What’s been going on since I’ve been gone?” Well, last week The Donald sent an armada in the wrong direction.

Edited April 25, 20179 yr by pegman

Obama has way too much class to bad-mouth Trump.  Besides, it's simply not necessary.  Trump says more bad things about himself than anyone else could every time he opens his mouth or his Twitter app.

25 minutes ago, Chou Anou said:

Obama has way too much class to bad-mouth Trump.  Besides, it's simply not necessary.  Trump says more bad things about himself than anyone else could every time he opens his mouth or his Twitter app.

The more the Democrats oppose Trump, and the more Hilary Clinton stays in the public eye, the worse their situation will  get as it galvanizes those that have been brainwashed by Fox News and other outlets.

 

Let Trump enact his plans (of which he apparently has none at the moment), let him lead the hard right on their journey to nirvana, because that is the only way to insure that the fraud is truly exposed. If their plans work, then the Dems have been wrong all the time and will need to accept it, but if they fail, the right has a whole lot of explaining to do.

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

Well, the moss was kicked out the rolling stones and at last, we see a president how doesn't only talk and talk and talk and dose nothing, Flash news Mr. Obama, the world hasn't missed one bit of you sir.... and for all we care, you can very well stay gone....

 

4 hours ago, tonray said:

The more the Democrats oppose Trump, and the more Hilary Clinton stays in the public eye, the worse their situation will  get as it galvanizes those that have been brainwashed by Fox News and other outlets.

 

Let Trump enact his plans (of which he apparently has none at the moment), let him lead the hard right on their journey to nirvana, because that is the only way to insure that the fraud is truly exposed. If their plans work, then the Dems have been wrong all the time and will need to accept it, but if they fail, the right has a whole lot of explaining to do.

Its sad you dont recognise dignity though that explains your support for the orange clown. Trump isn't fit to tie Obamas shoe laces let alone govern the USA.

26 minutes ago, joecoolfrog said:

 

Its sad you dont recognise dignity though that explains your support for the orange clown. Trump isn't fit to tie Obamas shoe laces let alone govern the USA.

I think you missed my point. I abhor the lying sack of dung. My point is the Left is the source of his staying power. If someone doesn't have the balls to tell Hilary to <deleted>, he will get another 4 years because taking back Congress is likely to fail. 

8 hours ago, pegman said:

“What’s been going on since I’ve been gone?” Well, last week The Donald sent an armada in the wrong direction.

Capt. "Wrongway" Trump. 

8 hours ago, Chou Anou said:

Obama has way too much class to bad-mouth Trump.  Besides, it's simply not necessary.  Trump says more bad things about himself than anyone else could every time he opens his mouth or his Twitter app.

Absolutely.  From the day Trump was elected, Obama has been nothing but class and professionalism.  Even though I think it pained him greatly, knowing that Trump was going to be really bad for the country. 

11 hours ago, ezzra said:

Well, the moss was kicked out the rolling stones and at last, we see a president how doesn't only talk and talk and talk and dose nothing, Flash news Mr. Obama, the world hasn't missed one bit of you sir.... and for all we care, you can very well stay gone....

You mean Obama, not Clinton, was actually running for office in the last election.  You can't believe anything the MSM says.

15 hours ago, ezzra said:

Well, the moss was kicked out the rolling stones and at last, we see a president how doesn't only talk and talk and talk and dose nothing, Flash news Mr. Obama, the world hasn't missed one bit of you sir.... and for all we care, you can very well stay gone....

Just to add ,Trump is the least liked president  of the last 13

No need to explicitly mention him. He's always the orange elephant in the room. 

15 hours ago, ezzra said:

Well, the moss was kicked out the rolling stones and at last, we see a president how doesn't only talk and talk and talk and dose nothing, Flash news Mr. Obama, the world hasn't missed one bit of you sir.... and for all we care, you can very well stay gone....

 

 

" Obama’s Barrage of Complete Sentences Seen as Brutal Attack on Trump"" “He totally restricted his speech to complete sentences,” Tracy Klugian, a student at the event, said. “It was the most vicious takedown of Trump I’d ever seen.”

 

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/obamas-barrage-of-complete-sentences-seen-as-brutal-attack-on-trump

 

so.. so.. so true !!

 

 

 

https://memegenerator.net/instance/72583140/word-salad-trump-word-salad-we-have-to-come-up-and-we-can-come-up-with-many-different-plans-in-fact-

 

Edited April 25, 20179 yr by Opl

Oh, so boy statesman is still running at the mouth.  Well, that & golf always were the only two things he was ever good at.  His idea of "working for a living" no doubt.

Off-topic post and reply removed.  

47 minutes ago, hawker9000 said:

Oh, so boy statesman is still running at the mouth.  Well, that & golf always were the only two things he was ever good at.  His idea of "working for a living" no doubt.

Unlike Trump, Obama is a self made man.  He wasn't born wealthy.  And as for golf, there was recently a poll asking Republicans who had golfed more in the first few months of their respective terms - Trump or Obama. 53% of Republicans said Obama.  

11 hours ago, tonray said:

I think you missed my point. I abhor the lying sack of dung. My point is the Left is the source of his staying power. If someone doesn't have the balls to tell Hilary to <deleted>, he will get another 4 years because taking back Congress is likely to fail. 

 

What does any Democratic party leader have to do except sit back and watch him <deleted> everything up?

 

It might as well be as well be Punxsutawney Phil.

 

The Obamas know that M only has to nod and she will be straight in, so they're going to make the most of their 3 year vacation.

 

That's what her emphatic denials have been for, to give them a break.

 

 

21 hours ago, Chou Anou said:

Obama has way too much class to bad-mouth Trump.  Besides, it's simply not necessary.  Trump says more bad things about himself than anyone else could every time he opens his mouth or his Twitter app.

5555555555555555555555555555

I remember him getting down and dirty before the election re Trump.

$65 million for 2 books .

4 hours ago, Enoon said:

 

What does any Democratic party leader have to do except sit back and watch him <deleted> everything up?

 

It might as well be as well be Punxsutawney Phil.

 

The Obamas know that M only has to nod and she will be straight in, so they're going to make the most of their 3 year vacation.

 

That's what her emphatic denials have been for, to give them a break.

 

 

There are millions and millions of Americans that would disagree with you on "M". The world and the USA have had enough of the Obamas.

22 hours ago, tonray said:

I think you missed my point. I abhor the lying sack of dung. My point is the Left is the source of his staying power. If someone doesn't have the balls to tell Hilary to <deleted>, he will get another 4 years because taking back Congress is likely to fail. 

Sorry , I didn't actually mean to include your post in my quote , my bad !

7 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

There are millions and millions of Americans that would disagree with you on "M". The world and the USA have had enough of the Obamas.

There are I believe about 350 million Americans out there. So saying that "There are millions and millions of Americans that would disagree with you" is probably true on a multitude of issues including the existence of little green men from outer space.  Look up the word "innumeracy".

2 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

There are I believe about 350 million Americans out there. So saying that "There are millions and millions of Americans that would disagree with you" is probably true on a multitude of issues including the existence of little green men from outer space.  Look up the word "innumeracy".

I was just pointing out that "M" would not be a shoo in. I wasn't talking about aliens, though there are some that think the world's leaders are actually reptiles in disguise.

11 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I was just pointing out that "M" would not be a shoo in. I wasn't talking about aliens, though there are some that think the world's leaders are actually reptiles in disguise.

There was actually a book by Jon Ronson, that reported on that reptile guy. The best part of the story concerns the Anti Defamation League repeatedly blocked him from speaking because they believed this loon's book was actually coded anti-semitism.

16 hours ago, White Christmas13 said:

Just to add ,Trump is the least liked president  of the last 13

Who was less liked, 14 back?

 

Do tell...

 

Hoover? I thought he was dam? Or did he invent the vacuum cleaner?

Edited April 26, 20179 yr by Grouse

9 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

There was actually a book by Jon Ronson, that reported on that reptile guy. The best part of the story concerns the Anti Defamation League repeatedly blocked him from speaking because they believed this loon's book was actually coded anti-semitism.

Which made them the loons.

He was actually quite clever and had a lot of sense till he blew it with his reptiles scenario.

16 hours ago, Opl said:

 

 

" Obama’s Barrage of Complete Sentences Seen as Brutal Attack on Trump"" “He totally restricted his speech to complete sentences,” Tracy Klugian, a student at the event, said. “It was the most vicious takedown of Trump I’d ever seen.”

 

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/obamas-barrage-of-complete-sentences-seen-as-brutal-attack-on-trump

 

so.. so.. so true !!

 

 

 

https://memegenerator.net/instance/72583140/word-salad-trump-word-salad-we-have-to-come-up-and-we-can-come-up-with-many-different-plans-in-fact-

 

That's splendid! Great stuff!

Oh for the days when the Free World had a leader with class. 

47 minutes ago, joecoolfrog said:

Sorry , I didn't actually mean to include your post in my quote , my bad !

My bad? Is that equivalent to mea culpa?

 

I'm always being told off for not understand modern language ?

Edited April 26, 20179 yr by Grouse

3 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Oh for the days when the Free World had a leader with class. 

Have to go back to Kennedy for that.