Obama thinks about countering Trump 'every day', but insists he cannot 'function' like Jon Stewart
WASHINGTON, DC: Former President Barack Obama, in his latest interview, spoke his mind on a few things surrounding the current political landscape and how he would prefer to engage with the evolving situation.
Speaking about the political and ideological confrontation with President Donald Trump, Obama said he thinks about what he could do to counter outrageous utterances and misbegotten policy from the Republican leader “every day.”
Obama on why he doesn't combat everything that the Trump administration does
During an interview with The New Yorker, Barack Obama was asked whether he considers how else he would want to respond to Trump’s policies and all that he speaks. "I think about it every day," the Democrat said.
He further emphasised that if he tried to speak out often and tried to combat everything that the Trump administration does, whether making statements or floating new policies, he would dilute his impact as a former president.
Obama said if he spoke on everything, then he would be a commentator, not a political leader.
Obama says he can't function like Jon Stewart
“For me to function like Jon Stewart, even once a week, just going off, just ripping what was happening—which, by the way, I’m glad Jon’s doing it—then I’m not a political leader, I’m a commentator,” Obama said. In fact, he insisted, he is doing more than people realize.
“The media environment is so difficult that people don’t even know all the stuff I am doing, right?” he said. “And, I think, when they do see me, then the sense is, 'Well, why isn’t he doing that every day instead of just during a midterm election, or during a referendum campaign around gerrymandering, or what have you?'”
Trump's policies make Obama work more
The former president further said that frequent developments from Trump make him work more than he would prefer to do. “More than I would have preferred,” he said.
Obama said he has campaigned in almost every election since he left office, as well as hosted fundraisers and recorded dozens of video ads and robocalls. He argued that his efforts to oppose Trump should not be measured by the number of speeches he has given or his appearances in legacy news outlets but also by the audiences he reaches in other ways. Obama has sat with many podcasters and influencers.
Obama’s longtime strategist David Plouffe told the New Yorker, “People who are going to be decisive in elections going forward do not seek out information about politics—they encounter it.”
“Obama will talk about things, and there will be video clips that are interesting to people, because it’s not like a droning on in a political speech,” he added.
