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© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Obama endorses Trudeau in unprecedented move
By ROB GILLIES TORONTO©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
39 Comments
Kestrel
Trudeau pranced around in blackface while performing grotesque charracatures of black males. He even stuffed his crotch to add to the shamefulness of it all.
This just reinforces what we already know about Obama.
Blacklabel
Meddling. How is it not?
PTownsend
Meddling? How is it? President Obama is a private citizen. Unless of course you're implying he's running some deep state operation. Sigh
We? I assume you mean those employed by the Internet Research Agency and other global alt right troll armies pushing white nationalism and global corporatist authoritarianism led by Putin.
I have and always have had many disagreements with President Obama's policies, but he ran arguably the most scandal free administration of any modern US president. Except in the minds of white nationalists who for some reason see him in their own twisted ways.
Concerned Citizen
Unfortunately Justin Trudeau is a weak leader who's signature achievement includes lurching Canada so far left that a person can be legally punished for using politically incorrect words (addressing a biological male using male pronouns or vice versa) and a 14 year old girl's father has no right to object to her receiving male hormone injections.
No wonder Obama endorsed him. Birds of a feather......
Chip Star
You hit it in the head. Trumpophiles are incapable of understanding nuance unless it's to spin conspiracy theories.
Jimizo
He can endorse who he likes.
Rump endorsed Bozo for UK PM.
Alfie Noakes
I recently saw someone on here claim Obama was a "black nationalist neo-Marxist". Given the alternative reality inhabited by these people, their cognitive dissonance over Obama, a private citizen, endorsing Trudeau and Trump, the American president, endorsing Lying Johnson should could as no surprise.
Black Sabbath
Jimizo
Yes, he can.
It's just, I don't think he, or any American, should.
Blacklabel
Ah “private citizen” is the excuse. Knew you would find one for saint Obama.
Blacklabel
Strange that the article Obama endorses the leader of another country but won’t endorse his own VP.
Blacklabel
Trump was not there personally chanting anything.
trudeau was personally wearing black face. Enough times that he doesn’t know how many.
By liberal standards he shouldn’t even be allowed to run, much less be endorsed by a black man who won’t endorse his VP.
Texas A&M Aggie
Obama is reduced to endorsing political candidates outside America because he knows his coattails are not long enough to secure victories for politicians he has supported in the past (Hillary, governor candidates in Florida, Georgia and several Senate and House democrats).
Blacklabel
Because it’s odd that a person wearing black face, which is supposedly the most offensive thing a white person can do, is glowingly endorsed by a victim of his multiple transgressions.
just shows liberals with selective outrage and groupthink over all other.
Trump should endorse Trudeau too.
Toasted Heretic
Could be worse. He could have a history of praising dictators and autocrats.
Like Kim, Putin, MBS, Xi, Erdogan, Duterte?
Toasted Heretic
Dishonesty and arguing in bad faith are pretty offensive, I'd say.
I'm guessing that Obama has the strength and grace to be in a forgiving mood and focus on what they have in common.
Bit like Trumpists, come to think of it. Outraged over comedians going against Trump but fine with their own videos advocating violence against Democrats etc.
Jimizo
I think it’s worth drawing a distinction between a sitting president and a retired president, but it is of course still worth taking into account what or whom is being endorsed.
In this case, a retired president is showing support for a sitting Canadian PM who is under fire partly because of his stupid blackface stunts. As a point of comparison on the topic of racism and interfering in other people’s business, the sitting president, Trump, retweeted dodgy videos from a UK-based racist organization ( the leaders are now locked up ) and earned a rebuke from the then PM of the UK for giving publicity to racist trash.
Also, Trump as a private citizen was a birther. Even he knew he had to disown this rancid racially-fueled trash before becoming president. There is a a difference between private citizen and president in terms of what you can say or do. Even potty-mouth, trash-talking Trump sees this to some degree.
Serrano
Trudeau is in a tough re-election fight
Why would that be? Isn't he doing a bang-up job?
M3M3M3
I find it inappropriate for anyone, and especially someone with a high profile, to endorse a politician in a foreign country which they don't live in. Any endorsement like this is bound to be self-serving and superficial because it lacks a fully informed understanding of the domestic issues affecting local people.
lincolnman
Dang straight...no President should involve themselves in another country's election...that ain't right...ain't dignified...
The president, speaking to the British newspaper before he visits the UK on Monday, expressed support for the former foreign secretary in his bid to replace Theresa May, saying: “I think Boris would do a very good job. I think he would be excellent.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/01/trump-backs-boris-johnson-tory-leadership-calls-duchess-sussex-nasty
Blacklabel
Sure and you guys went nuts when Trump did it. Obama does it, meh, “private citizen”, whatever. Blackface? Nah that’s not so important right now have an election to win.
lincolnman
Duh - yea. Sitting President - Leader of the country vs former President - Private Citizen? And where was your outrage when Trump was endorsing Boris and Netanyahu?
Ain't as bad as discriminating against black tenants by refusing to rent to them...
*1973:** The US Department of Justice — under the Nixon administration, out of all administrations — sued the Trump Management Corporation for violating the Fair Housing Act. Federal officials found evidence that Trump had refused to rent to black tenants and lied to black applicants about whether apartments were available, among other accusations. *
https://www.vox.com/2016/7/25/12270880/donald-trump-racist-racism-history
Norman Goodman
Thinking people don't care because that in itself is not proof of racism. You won't find any other reason to even suspect Trudeau of racism, (this guy who has been vocal about accepting minority immigrants to Canada no less) thus thinking people do not. As with Robert Downey, jr. in Tropic Thunder, just making yourself up as a person of a different race is NOT a racist act. In fact, imitation is the highest form of flattery....depending on how you do it.
What is so confusing about a sitting president doing it and an ex-president doing it? Can you not tell the difference between the two? Do you not understand that Trump wields all sorts of power as president, such as commander in chief of the U.S. military while Obama has no such power anymore?
How is Donald Trump like a Jack-o-Lantern? He is orange on the outside, hollow on the inside and he should be thrown out in early November! And you will find everyone complaining now will simply disagree with him once he is out and not at all suggest he has no right to make an endorsement.
Chip Star
Yeah! WHATEVER! Hilarious that you are demonstrating that you guys don't understand nuance unless it's to spin conspiracy theories.
Donny refusing to rent to black people? Nah, that's not so important right now because he has an election to win.
Norman Goodman
It was certainly news to me that ex-presidents never voice their opinions on foreign candidates and that this is unprecedented. I find that rather patronizing. Its as if the Canadian people are not mature enough to simply note Obama's opinion but will rush to the polls voting as Obama wishes.
Obama has only two things pushing his opinion to the top 1) celebrity status and 2) insider knowledge. If the Canadian people are blinded by celebrity status they are going to have a bad time whether Obama speaks or not.
M3M3M3
@Zichi
I have no issue with someone saying 'As a Brit, I hope Trump is not elected because his policies do not bode well for my own interests'. But there's a clear distinction between this and pretending, as some on this site do, to be an expert on every aspect of economic, tax, education, and health policy in countries which they have never visited, let alone lived in, and claiming that the voters in that country made a mistake or are ignorant.
Ultimately, it's a matter of respect for democracy. Which, rightly or wrongly, is based on the presumption that local voters (not far off foreign Kings and Princes) have unique knowledge and expertise in deciding how to best determine their own affairs and who should lead them.
If I were Obama, I would have written something more along the lines of 'Trudeau has been a good friend/partner of the US and I'm looking forward to seeing that continue if he is elected by Canadians'. To express his own hope that Trudeau will be elected, while not a blatant endorsement, comes close to crossing the line of propriety in my opinion. It's inappropriate when Trump does it and also when Obama does it.
Blacklabel
Wow gotta go back to 1973 to deflect. Now I have liberals telling me blackface is ok. and it is actually flattering depending on how you do it. Are there different “ways” to go blackface now?
Hint: that’s not how you flatter a black person. Liberals just don’t care when is someone on their “team” doing it. He obviously had the best of intentions, meh.
It’s getting kinda rough on the liberal side.
Kestrel
The lefts hypocrisy in action.
blackface is just an unfortunate, forgivable action when done repeatedly and maliciously (“too many times to remember”) by a liberal.
lincolnman
Just look at the Trumpers here - all indignant about Trudeau having a little junior fumble during his younger days, which he has profusely apologized for....
Yet when Donnie calls a mostly African-American city "infested", or tells four women of color who also are House members to "go back to where you came from", or when Rep Congressman Steve King says; "white supremacy, when did that term become offensive", they cover their eyes and ears and make like Sgt Shultz.
And how many of you were outraged when the Republican Alabama Gov did her black face thing?
https://www.npr.org/2019/08/29/755649657/alabama-gov-kay-ivey-apologizes-for-wearing-blackface-during-college-skit
Take your hypocrisy somewhere else....all it does is make us laugh....
bass4funk
I wholeheartedly agree. But it’s interesting, Obama jumps to endorse and support Trudeau, but says nothing about his former VP sidekick for 8 years loyal all the way up and nothing....
Odd....
Kestrel
@Norman Goodman,
Riiiight, I get it now. Justin was just showing respect for people of colour by dressing up in blackface and making racist charracateurs of them. Not vulgar racism at all. THanks for enlightening us.
Jimizo
There’s plenty of hypocrisy to go round.
Just a quick question - do you regard not renting to black people, retweeting dodgy racist material and putting on blackface as racist behaviour?
Just checking that hypocrisy isn’t limited to the left.
Kestrel
they do say that liberals are the real racists,
Jimizo
Who is ‘they’? Racists?
Madverts
Voices in the asylum said that...
Serrano
But it’s interesting, Obama jumps to endorse and support Trudeau, but says nothing about his former VP sidekick for 8 years loyal all the way up and nothing....
Obama is not going to endorse his VP of eight years because he's going to endorse his wife when the DNC begs her jump into the 2020 race in a desperate bid to beat Trump after impeachment fails.