After a relatively quiet return to public life, Barack Obama will reportedly play a larger role in the political world during the 2018 midterm elections.
Unlike other former presidents, Obama opted to remain in Washington, D.C., after leaving office to allow his youngest daughter to finish high school uninterrupted. Still, despite living just miles from the White House, Obama’s political role was minimal.
In 2017, Obama would speak at campaign rallies for Ralph Northam in Virginia and Phil Murphy in New Jersey — both of whom would go on to win the gubernatorial elections in their respective states. Outside of those two campaign stops and a robocall in the Alabama Senate special election, Obama stayed largely out of the political fray.
But according to Politico, Obama will play a much larger role in 2018:
But with the midterms approaching, people close to him say he’ll shift into higher gear: campaigning, focusing his endorsements on down-ballot candidates, and headlining fundraisers. He’ll activate his 15,000-member campaign alumni association for causes and candidates he supports — including the 40 who are running for office themselves. He’s already strategizing behind the scenes with Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez and Eric Holder, who’s chairing his redistricting effort. – READ MORE
[give_form id=”79809″] [divider][/divider]A year since they last met, President Donald Trump and his predecessor Barack Obama haven’t spoken, the first time in decades two successive presidents have avoided communicating in the 12 months after handing off power.
Ties between presidents — if not always friendly — are usually at least existent. That Trump and Obama have avoided each other speaks to the unprecedented nature of the current White House, and the lingering animosity between two men who openly sparred during 2016’s presidential campaign.
Trump hasn’t shied away from blasting decisions Obama made during his tenure, and has steadily chipped away at key pieces of Obama’s legacy like the Paris climate accord and the Affordable Care Act. He’s also launched personal attacks, falsely claiming that Obama ordered the phones tapped at Trump Tower or that Obama failed to call family members of slain US servicemen.
The last time they spoke, Trump and Obama were standing on the East Front of the US Capitol as an idling military helicopter stood nearby. Moments after Trump was inaugurated, Obama appeared loose and smiling, his post-presidency life about to begin. – READ MORE
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