While Barack Obama‘s marriage has been the focus of the controversy for past several years for the 44th President, the former politician is under fire for a statement he made at London’s O2. Speaking with the British historian David Olusoga, Obama blames elderly males for causing the majority of issues across the globe: “It’s fair to say that 80 percent of the world’s problems involve old men hanging on who are afraid of death and insignificance, and they won’t let go.”
This isn’t the first time the former President has made such a statement, as The Daily Beast reports that he made a similar comment during an event in Singapore. However, this time around, it’s clear he’s taking a jab at the United States’ current leader, Donald Trump. After all, he does go on later to discuss Trump’s bizarre accusation of Tylenol being connected to autism. Obama has always been rather outspoken on political matters and even took a shot at the Trump administration for getting Jimmy Kimmel temporarily suspended. Unfortunately, his protest felt rather empty to many, and it’s more or less the same this time for slamming “old men” in power.
Critics Call Out Obama for Being Hypocritical
Immediately, online users pointed out that Obama’s quote means little when he called all the Democratic nominees of 2020 to drop out so Bernie wouldn’t win the primary. Other critics mentioned how so many lives were taken as a result of his drone program during his presidency, while others criticized him for being more concerned about his Netflix deals during the 2016 campaign. “He should take his own advice,” remarked an angry hater. Others agreed, saying that Obama’s stance on Palestine has been too weak and that he’s done too little since he left office.
Of course, there was a solid handful of people saying that there’s little Obama can actually do now that he’s not President anymore. Others said that all politicians are more or less the same, so both Trump and Obama are deserving of criticism. Whatever the case, it’s hard to see the former Democratic President as anything more than, well, a former Democratic President. So people’s perspective of him will always stay the same. If they didn’t like him before, they won’t like him now, even if the message he’s putting out might hold some value.
As for other topics he’s brought up during his time at the London arena, he did bring up his marriage, saying that he “was digging myself out of the hole I found myself with Michelle.” Fortunately, he says he’s reached “level ground,” meaning that things are likely stable, not to mention Michelle Obama publicly shut down divorce rumors earlier this year.
