Obama slams Trump for pushing ‘nativist, racist, sexist’ fears during private meetings with party donors: Report
Former President Barack Obama, on Thursday, July 30, reportedly slammed President Donald Trump in private with party donors and warned of his efforts to push "nativist, racist, sexist" fears and resentment. The former president also brought up past accusations against Trump of "assaulting women," according to the New York Times.
“At fund-raising events where he has pulled in more than $24 million for Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s campaign in the past two months, former President Barack Obama has privately unleashed on President Trump before party donors, bringing up past accusations of Trump ‘assaulting women’ and warning of his efforts to push "nativist, racist, sexist fears and resentments,” the Times reported.
The report also stated that Obama urged support for his former vice president for the 2020 national poll less than 100 days away, and expressed concerns about the state of democracy in the country, making references to Nazi Germany.
“It’s just glued to Fox News and Breitbart and Limbaugh and just this conservative echo chamber — and so, they’re going to turn out to vote,” Obama reportedly said. “What he has unleashed and what he continues to try to tap into is the fears and anger and resentment of people who, in some cases, really are having a tough time and have seen their prospects, or communities where they left, declining. And Trump tries to tap into that and redirect in nativist, racist, sexist ways," the former president said of Trump.
The Democrat leader has generally been careful about criticizing his successor directly and often denouncing him in veiled references without taking his name. Obama, earlier this month, on July 13, had tried to nullify Trump's consistent claim that mail-in voting would lead to fraud.
Amid rising calls for mail-in voting in the country amidst the coronavirus crisis, Trump has been staunchly opposed to the idea of voting by mail, stating it would not be an ideal democratic exercise and would lead to fraud. There is no evidence to support the president's idea that either absentee or mail-in ballots contribute to voter fraud.
Obama, however, tweeted in favor of voting by mail, writing: “Voting by mail shouldn't be a partisan issue – especially during a pandemic. Everybody should be able to request an absentee ballot, and make their voice heard in every election.”
In his latest remarks against mail-in voting, President Trump, on Thursday, suggested that this year's presidential elections set in November should be delayed. The unprecedented suggestion from the Republican came while he was complaining about universal mail-in voting amidst an ongoing pandemic. The president, however, does not have the power to delay the 2020 elections unilaterally.
Trump tweeted: "With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???"
Dr Stephen J Farnsworth, Professor of Political Science, University of Mary Washington, while speaking to MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), said that the president's tweet about the 2020 election delay could be an attempt to divert attention away from criticism over his handling of the current coronavirus crisis in the country. "The US election will occur on time in November regardless of the president’s tweets. The tweet may be an attempt to divert attention from the fact that as of this week more than 150,000 Americans have died of Covid 19."