Obama says Trump deepened US divide in rush to ‘identify enemy’ after Charlie Kirk shooting | Barack Obama | The Guardian
Obama says Trump deepened US divide in rush to ‘identify enemy’ after Charlie Kirk shooting
Ex-president says US in ‘dangerous moment’, after White House response to killings of Kirk and Melissa Hortman
By Edward Helmore,Wed 17 Sep 2025, 13.40 EDT
Barack Obama addressed the recent killing of Charlie Kirk and told a crowd in Pennsylvania on Tuesday the country was “at an inflection point”, but that political violence “is not new” and “has happened at certain periods” in US history.
Obama added that despite history, political violence was “anathema to what it means to be a democratic country”.
The former president made the remarks at the Jefferson Educational Society, a non-profit in Erie, Pennsylvania. He explicitly denounced political violence, addressing the fatal attacks this year of Kirk and the Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman. He called both incidents “a tragedy” and said Donald Trump had further divided the country rather than work to bring people together.
“There are no ifs, ands or buts about it: the central premise of our democratic system is that we have to be able to disagree and have sometimes really contentious debates without resorting to violence,” he said.
Obama warned that the response to Kirk’s assassination last week, which has kicked off a debate about free speech and the incitement to violence, could serve to deepen political and cultural divisions.
“There’s been some confusion, I think, around this lately, and, frankly, coming from the White House and some of the other positions of authority that suggest, even before we had determined who the perpetrator of this evil act was, that somehow we’re going to identify an enemy,” he said.
Politicians on the right, including Trump, have blamed the “radical left” for fostering a dangerous political environment. Many on the left say those claims are a pretext for an authoritarian crackdown on free speech.
Obama has kept something of a low profile in his post-presidency. Responding to a moderator’s questions on Tuesday, he addressed Trump’s rhetoric after Kirk’s assassination, as well as other administrative moves.
He spoke about his own leadership following the 2015 killings of nine Black parishioners at a Charleston, South Carolina church, as well as George W Bush’s decisions following the September 11 terrorist attacks. He said the role of a president in a crisis was “to constantly remind us of the ties that bind us together”.
The sentiment among Trump and his aides following Kirk’s killing of calling political opponents “vermin, enemies … speaks to a broader problem”, Obama said.
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Obama says Trump deepened US divide in rush to ‘identify enemy’ after Charlie Kirk shooting | Barack Obama | The Guardian
#2025 #America #BarackObama #CharlieKirk #DeepUSDivide #DonaldTrump #Education #FormerPresident #Health #History #IdentifyEnemy_ #Libraries #Library #LibraryOfCongress #Obama #Opinion #PoliticalViolence #Politics #Resistance #Science #Shooting #TheGuardian #Trump #TrumpAdministration #UnitedStates
Obama says Trump deepened US divide in rush to ‘identify enemy’ after Charlie Kirk shooting | Barack Obama | The Guardian
Obama says Trump deepened US divide in rush to ‘identify enemy’ after Charlie Kirk shooting
Ex-president says US in ‘dangerous moment’, after White House response to killings of Kirk and Melissa Hortman
By Edward Helmore,Wed 17 Sep 2025, 13.40 EDT
Barack Obama addressed the recent killing of Charlie Kirk and told a crowd in Pennsylvania on Tuesday the country was “at an inflection point”, but that political violence “is not new” and “has happened at certain periods” in US history.
Obama added that despite history, political violence was “anathema to what it means to be a democratic country”.
The former president made the remarks at the Jefferson Educational Society, a non-profit in Erie, Pennsylvania. He explicitly denounced political violence, addressing the fatal attacks this year of Kirk and the Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman. He called both incidents “a tragedy” and said Donald Trump had further divided the country rather than work to bring people together.
“There are no ifs, ands or buts about it: the central premise of our democratic system is that we have to be able to disagree and have sometimes really contentious debates without resorting to violence,” he said.
Obama warned that the response to Kirk’s assassination last week, which has kicked off a debate about free speech and the incitement to violence, could serve to deepen political and cultural divisions.
“There’s been some confusion, I think, around this lately, and, frankly, coming from the White House and some of the other positions of authority that suggest, even before we had determined who the perpetrator of this evil act was, that somehow we’re going to identify an enemy,” he said.
Politicians on the right, including Trump, have blamed the “radical left” for fostering a dangerous political environment. Many on the left say those claims are a pretext for an authoritarian crackdown on free speech.
Obama has kept something of a low profile in his post-presidency. Responding to a moderator’s questions on Tuesday, he addressed Trump’s rhetoric after Kirk’s assassination, as well as other administrative moves.
He spoke about his own leadership following the 2015 killings of nine Black parishioners at a Charleston, South Carolina church, as well as George W Bush’s decisions following the September 11 terrorist attacks. He said the role of a president in a crisis was “to constantly remind us of the ties that bind us together”.
The sentiment among Trump and his aides following Kirk’s killing of calling political opponents “vermin, enemies … speaks to a broader problem”, Obama said.
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Obama says Trump deepened US divide in rush to ‘identify enemy’ after Charlie Kirk shooting | Barack Obama | The Guardian
#2025 #America #BarackObama #CharlieKirk #DeepUSDivide #DonaldTrump #Education #FormerPresident #Health #History #IdentifyEnemy_ #Libraries #Library #LibraryOfCongress #Obama #Opinion #PoliticalViolence #Politics #Resistance #Science #Shooting #TheGuardian #Trump #TrumpAdministration #UnitedStates
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