Obama's Blistering New Takedown of Trump Gives Dems a Way Forward

[red dog 1]

The New Republic
April 4, 2025


For months now, Democrats have been eating themselves alive with an internal argument over how aggressively to criticize Trump's destruction of the rule of law and constitutional order.
Some Democrats think raising this is mostly a waste of time, and if raised, it must feature a quick pivot to prices.
By this account, Democrats face a choice: "Either" attack Trump's lawlessness "or" indict his degradation of people's everyday material conditions.
Do the former, and you're distracting from the latter -- the only real lifeblood of politics.

Barack Obama just made some remarks that are starting to get attention for their stirring indictment of Trump's lawless abuses of power.
That a former president is expressing deep alarm about the precariousness of the rule of law under one of his successors is certainly big news.

But looked at another way, Obama's comments also offer Democrats a way out of the "either"- prices-"or"-democracy cul-de-sac that has flummoxed the party.
What they underscore is this: Trump's destruction of the rule of law and his imminent wreckage of the economy are actually the same story.

Obama prefaced his remarks -- delivered in a question-and-answer session at Hamilton College -- by declaring that he has "deep differences of opinion with my most immediate successor, who's now president once again."

More:
https://newrepublic.com/article/193641/obama-speech-trump-takedown-democrats-fight

[GoreWon2000]

1. Not sure those in charge now are listening

However, the "Hands off" protest shows that it's the grassroots who is leading now as they've done throughout our country's history.

[regnaD kciN]

2. "Blistering"...???

Is TNR trying to emulate the hyperbolic clickbait titles of far too many progressive YouTubers? The only thing that’s missing is the random words in ALL-CAPS.

Seriously, while I’m glad Obama (and Harris) are finally breaking their silence, there’s nothing about their sober, calm comments that are likely to fire up Democrats into action. We have to do that ourselves.

[lees1975]

3. I don't think Trump opposition and resistance is going to depend much on the Democratic party, nor benefit much from it.

With the exception of Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, we're really not getting the wholehearted and enthusiastic push that we should be getting from people who clam to believe that Trump is an existential threat to democracy. If he was, there'd have been a lot more risky, bold political moves and a lot less protecting of political asses. What I observed on Saturday was that Democratic party figures weren't so much involved in the organization and carrying out of what occurred. This was a grassroots movement, in the true definition of that term's meaning, and that gives it the ability to eventually swamp the GOP and Trump, and either make them get rid of him, like they did when the pressure was on Nixon, or neutralize him.

It's not going to be enough to fire up the Democrats to action, and I don't think, other than the two I've already mentioned, there is anyone else who is willing to put their ass on the line. Maybe Cory Booker, maybe Jamie Raskin, maybe. This is a narrowing down of the issues, a close definition of the message, which Dems always have trouble articulating and supporting, and a focus on the existential danger Trump poses to Democracy, and nothing else but that. It can't get wonky or lose track of direction and get lost in endless issues.