“The big thing that I think we have going for us is that even with really slim majorities, what we’ve shown is that we can deliver,” Obama said in a Friday interview with “Pod Save. America,” a podcast hosted by former aides in his White House.
“You have the Inflation Control Act that has lowered prescription drug prices, made health care even more affordable thanks to the ACA [Affordable Care Act], which aims to reduce energy costs. You have a gun bill that is the first major piece of gun safety legislation we’ve seen in 30 years,” Obama said.
He will attend an event in Atlanta on Oct. 28 and events in Detroit and Milwaukee on Oct. 29, his office said. Democratic Senate candidate Mandela Barnes of Wisconsin welcomed the visit in a statement, saying his original inspiration for entering public office was Obama’s speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
“I couldn’t be more excited to have him return to Wisconsin to join us on the trail,” Barnes said in a statement. Barnes is running against Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
In the “Pod Save America” interview, Obama urged Democrats to focus less on former President Donald Trump and more on the underlying issues that most directly affect voters.
“We spend an enormous amount of time, energy and resources pointing out the last crazy thing he said, or how rude or mean some of these Republican candidates behaved,” he said. . “It’s probably not something that in the minds of most voters outweighs their core interests: can I pay the rent?” What are the gas prices? How do I take care of childcare?
But Obama has also devoted considerable energy to raising concerns about the erosion of democratic standards since leaving office. The Obama Foundation plans a “Democracy Forum” in November in New York after the halfwayin partnership with Columbia University and the University of Chicago, with roundtables on fighting misinformation, repairing democratic institutions, expanding pluralism, and creating a more inclusive capitalism.
Obama has also worked behind the scenes to raise money for Democrats, hosting high-value fundraisers in recent months for the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and National Democratic Redistricting Committee, while also issuing direct mail and email appeals for those groups and other Democratic entities.
“What we’ve seen in the last four years with a whole bunch of high profile people in one of our two main political parties is that they don’t even pretend,” he said during from a recent DNC fundraiser, according to excerpts of his published remarks. through his office. “Essentially what they said is that we fear being a minority party, our ideas don’t sell, but if we can exploit some of the game in the joints of a creaky democracy, if we can work and play with the system enough to exploit its anti-majority tendencies or tendencies, we may just be able to take power, even if we don’t get the most votes, even if we don’t muster the most support of our population, and whether we are ruthless enough.
Obama’s public profile has remained far below that of Trump, who regularly holds mass rallies across the country for Republican candidates, as he continues to tease the possibility of running for president again in 2024. Obama has published the first volume of his memoirs. and signed a production contract with Netflix.
A Poll 2020 by Gallup ranked Obama as the second most admired man among Americans, just behind Trump and well ahead of President Biden. Former first lady Michelle Obama was ranked as the most admired woman, well ahead of Vice President Harris and former first lady Melania Trump.