Former US President Barack Obama gave a 60 minutes interview where he talked about the state of affairs in the US right now. Obama noted that the 2020 election showed the division in the US today, adding that there’s a sense in the United States where “the truth doesn’t even matter.”
Obama also spoke on the ongoing transition crisis where Trump has refused to concede the race and is instead hoping to overturn the results of the November 3 vote through a series of lawsuits in several key states. The former president is promoting his new memoir titled the Promised Land, a book that’s scheduled to drop this week.
Obama spoke a lot about Trump’s fight over the results. He argued that the president is a public servant who holds the oval office for a temporary period of time. The former senator from Illinois added that “when your time in office is up” you must put the needs of the country first and vacate. Obama expressed fears that the current stance by Trump and his enablers could dent US democracy for years to come.
He argued that over the last 4 years, the American people have witnessed a presidency that has “disregarded a host of basic institutional norms.” The former president expressed his concern that the outgoing administration has created an atmosphere in the country where “we do not have to tell the truth”, and one where “the truth doesn't even matter.”
Asked about what he felt about the outcome of the election, Obama noted that it was clear that it’s not just politicians who are divided, but the entire country. He also expressed disappointment that US politics have degenerated from a purely policy-based contest to identity. Obama said that “policies per se do not matter anymore as much as identity and beating the other guy.” This he felt has weakened the US and has opened a window for adversaries to target the nation.
Obama also feels that the ongoing transition crisis puts the entire nation at risk. He argues that while it’s one thing for Trump to refuse to concede the race, the fact that congressional Republicans are enabling this behavior is alarming. Nonetheless, Obama still remains optimistic that America will find its way again. This was the first interview by the former president after the election.
The November 3 vote was probably the most contested in US history. A record number of people voted, most by mail.
Although Trump and his campaign have alleged widespread fraud, there hasn’t been any concrete evidence to substantiate their claims. It also looks likely that Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United State in January as most lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign don’t seem strong enough to overturn the vote.
Biden flipped five states that Trump won in 2016, including the three Midwestern states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The former VP also pulled a few upsets, becoming the first Democrat in decades to win in Georgia and Arizona.
