In the American tradition, former presidents tend to say very little about their successors. And with this in mind, while Barack Obama has no doubt been tempted in recent months to condemn Donald Trump and his actions, Obama has been restrained, giving the new president a wide berth.
But just a couple of days before Trump’s inauguration, Obama acknowledged that while the White House and Congress would make their own determinations about the nation’s direction in the coming years, and he intended to stay out of it, that principle is not absolute.
“There’s a difference,” Obama said, “between that normal functioning of politics and certain issues or certain moments where I think our core values may be at stake.”
Less than two weeks after leaving office, this led Obama to issue a statement responding to the Trump White House’s proposed Muslim ban. This afternoon, with the American health care system in peril, the former president spoke up again, this time via social media.
The Democrat’s 1,000-word statement is worth reading in its entirety, and it clearly has more than one audience in mind. Part of Obama’s message clearly intends to encourage health care advocates and their allies to remain engaged and fight to prevent the nation from falling backwards.
But the other part of the message appears to be a challenge to Republican policymakers to do the right thing:
“[I have been careful] to say again and again that while the Affordable Care Act represented a significant step forward for America, it was not perfect, nor could it be the end of our efforts — and that if Republicans could put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements we made to our health care system, that covers as many people at less cost, I would gladly and publicly support it.
“That remains true. So I still hope that there are enough Republicans in Congress who remember that public service is not about sport or notching a political win, that there’s a reason we all chose to serve in the first place, and that hopefully, it’s to make people’s lives better, not worse.









