FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SPOKE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE ELECTION ON THURSDAY.
HOW THE SPEECH IS BEING INTERPRETED BY THE MEDIA –
DIFFERS DEPENDING ON A NEWS OUTLET’S POLITICAL BIAS.
POLITICO AND THE NEW YORK TIMES – BOTH LEFT LEANING –
REPORTED “OBAMA TALKS BRIDGE-BUILDING” –
AND “OBAMA CALLS FOR ‘FORGING ALLIANCES’ AND ‘BUILDING COALITIONS’”
NEWS OUTLETS FROM THE RIGHT CLASSIFIED IT DIFFERENTLY.
FOX NEWS – “OBAMA IN FIRST REMARKS SINCE ELECTION, SAYS A LINE HAS BEEN CROSSED IF ‘ONE SIDE’ MAKES CERTAIN MOVES”.
AND WASHINGTON EXAMINER REPORTED “OBAMA SCORNS ‘DOOM LOOP’ OF POLITICAL EXTREMISM.”
AT HIS FOUNDATION’S “DEMOCRACY FORUM IN CHICAGO” –
OBAMA GAVE HIS THOUGHTS IN A POST-ELECTION WORLD AFTER THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY LOST IN NOVEMBER.
THESE NEWS OUTLETS – HONING IN ON DIFFERENT EXCERPTS FROM HIS SPEECH.
THE NEW YORK TIMES WROTE
“In his first speech since the presidential election in November, Barack Obama urged Americans who want democracy to survive to look for ways to compromise, engage with the other side, turn away from identity politics and build relationships with unlikely potential allies.”
“Pluralism is not about holding hands and singing ‘Kumbaya,’” Mr. Obama said in Chicago on Thursday. “It is not about abandoning your convictions and folding when things get tough. It is about recognizing that, in a democracy, power comes from forging alliances and building coalitions, and making room in those coalitions not only for the woke, but the waking.”
FOX NEWS OFFERED A DIFFERENT POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE TO OBAMA’S SPEECH –
WRITING –
“Former President Obama declared that if “one side” attempts to cement “a permanent grip on power” through “suppressing votes,” “politicizing” the military or weaponizing the judiciary and criminal justice system to target opponents, “a line has been crossed.”
His comments came even as many Americans believe that President-elect Trump has been unfairly targeted in unwarranted politically motivated cases.
“It means that in a democracy we all have to find a way to live alongside individuals and groups who are different than us,” he said.
Obama’s remarks came after Biden made a comment earlier this year that many perceived as him referring to Trump supporters as “garbage.”
LEFT-LEANING OUTLETS DESCRIBED THE SPEECH AS NOT POLITICAL OR DIVISIVE –
THE TIMES WRITING “THE SPEECH VEERED AWAY FROM THE BLUNT PARTISAN POLITICS THAT HAD DOMINATED OBAMA’S MOST RECENT PUBLIC APPEARANCES.”
AND POLITICO WRITING “Obama urged his audience to embrace pluralism and celebrate people’s differences — the closest he came to a political message in his remarks.”
NEWS OUTLETS ON THE RIGHT OFFERED EXAMPLES OF RHETORIC DURING THE ELECTION SEASON THAT CONTRADICT A MESSAGE OF UNITY –
FOX NEWS WRITING “Democrats have consistently launched invective against Trump — including Biden, who said that the Republican was a “genuine danger to American security” — but it was Trump who was the target of several assassination attempts in the run-up to the 2024 election.”
AND THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER WRITING –
“While campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris, Obama repeatedly scrutinized Trump not only for his policy, but his personality, including his character and temperament.”
OBAMA’S SPEECH – GARNERING VARIED REACTIONS –
COMES AT A TIME WHEN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAS BEEN REGROUPING SINCE HARRIS’ LOSS.
WHILE OBAMA IS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE OF THE PARTY TODAY –
QUESTIONS REMAIN LOOKING AHEAD AT WHAT VOICES WILL LEAD THE PARTY INTO 2028.
FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS – I’M KARAH RUCKER.
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