[ad_1]
Former President Barack Obama lamented the rise of the "strong man policy" and the "total loss of shame" among political leaders who lie repeatedly during the year. a speech Tuesday in South Africa widely perceived by his successor. Speaking at an event honoring the late Nelson Mandela before the 100th anniversary of his birth, Obama did not mention President Trump by name and expressed his concerns much more widely, cautioning against authoritarian movements on a global scale.
Trump, who at a summit in Helsinki the day before seemed to have more confidence in Russian President Vladimir Putin than in the US secret service who concluded that Russia had interfered in the US elections of 2016. [19659003"I'mnotalarmistI'mjuststatingthefacts"Obamatoldacrowdofabout15000peopleinJohannesburg"Lookaroundyou-thepoliticsofstrongmenisascendingsuddenlybywhichelectionsandsomepretextsofdemocracyaremaintainedtheformofitwherethoseinpowerseektoundermineanyinstitutionornormthatgivesmeaningtodemocracy"
Obama is in Africa to commemorate Nelson Mandela's 100th birthday and to develop future leaders]
Obama's speech also contained criticisms of Trump's positions on climate immigration and other policies
"You must believe the facts," said Obama. "Without facts, there is no basis for cooperation.If I say that it is a podium and you say that it is an elephant, it will be difficult for us to cooperate."
"I can not find any ground if someone says that climate change is not happening, when almost every scientist in the world tells us," Obama continued. "I do not know where to start talking to you about that.If you say it's an elaborate hoax, where do you start?"
At a time when independent auditors are calling Trump about misleading statements and lies almost every day, Obama has also targeted politicians who lie, as well as who attack the media, as Trump does regularly.
"People just do things," he says. "They just do things … We see the total loss of shame among political leaders where they are caught in a lie and they just double and they lie a little bit more." In the old days, if you catch them, they would be like, oh, dude – now they continue to lie. "
Obama also lamented that" the free press is being attacked "at a time when Trump regularly" Social media, once considered a mechanism for promoting knowledge , understanding and solidarity, proved equally effective in promoting hatred and paranoia, propaganda and theories of conspiracy, "he added.
The former president of the United States suggested a different path.
"Let me tell you what I believe," he said. "I believe in Nelson Mandela's vision, I believe in a vision shared by Gandhi and King, and Abraham Lincoln, I believe in a vision of equality and justice and freedom and multiracial democracy based on the principle that all men are created equal and endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights. "
Obama's trip is the first in Africa since early 2017. He stopped earlier this week in Kenya, where he visited the rural birthplace of his late father
[ad_2]
Source link
