Summary
Barack Obama sharply criticized Donald Trump’s presidency during a speech at Hamilton College, condemning attacks on the press, immigration crackdowns, and threats to civil liberties.
He called it “unimaginable” that Trump’s actions—such as barring the AP and threatening law firms—would have been tolerated under past presidents.
Obama warned that Trump’s behavior, though “goofy,” poses real danger, and he labeled Trump a “wannabe dictator.”
He also referenced former Trump aide John Kelly’s “fascist” remark and urged Americans not to mistake chaos for leadership.
I stopped speaking with my parents a couple of weeks after January 20, and let them know that the ball’s in their court and if they want to have a relationship, all they need to do is acknowledge that they were wrong about Trump.
It fucking sucks. But I just can’t abide that shit anymore. Without getting into details, I might not have a job this time next year (after a decade there) directly because of the actions of this Administration. And even still, they don’t seem to care.
I’ve started wondering how they’d react if I was disappeared. They’d likely tell people that I probably did something to deserve it, before ever admitting that they support a fascist dictator.
Shit’s a real bummer.
I’m sorry friend. I don’t understand how people can be so defective and have no empathy
The irony is that the values that I’m standing by here were taught to me by them. I may not have stayed in their church, but the “good parts” definitely stuck with me. I’m empathetic, in part, because I was taught to be by them.
I imagine if they were raising me now, they probably wouldn’t have let me watch shows like Sesame Street and Mister Rogers that only helped solidify those values.
Back then we went to a multi-cultural church, and had several very good friends that were people of color. If that were happening now instead, I’m not sure how they would be able to reconcile that with their political views. Just ignore the cognitive dissonance, I guess?
Their minds have just been so broken by conservative propaganda that I don’t even recognize them.