Barack Obama tore into his successor in a roaring eulogy for a civil rights icon that Donald Trump claimed to be good friends with.
Former President Barack Obama, 64, took several thinly-veiled swipes at “those in high office” as he honored Rev. Jesse Jackson in a star-studded funeral service in his hometown of Chicago on Friday. The event was attended by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Joe Biden, as well as former Vice President Kamala Harris.
The nation’s first Black president received several standing ovations from the crowd, who began to shout “four more years” when he took the stage at the House of Hope church.
“No, see, I believe in the Constitution,” he said, drawing a barrage of cheers.
Obama honored Jackson and his legacy in a lengthy speech, but didn’t forget to acknowledge the highly charged political environment under Trump, 79.
“Every day you wake up to things you just didn’t think were possible,” he said. “Each day, we’re told by those in high office to fear each other and to turn on each other, and that some Americans count more than others, and that some don’t even count at all.”
“Everywhere we see greed and bigotry being celebrated, and bullying and mockery masquerading as strength. We see science and expertise denigrated, while ignorance and dishonesty and cruelty and corruption are reaping untold rewards,” he continued as the crowd applauded.
Obama said Jackson’s life should serve as an inspiration to “take a harder path.” The pioneering civil rights activist and protégé of Martin Luther King Jr. died at age 84 last month.
“It may be tempting to get discouraged, to give in to cynicism. It may be tempting for some to compromise with power, and grab what you can, or even for good people to maybe just put your head down and wait for the storm to pass,” the former president said. “But this man, Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson, inspires us to take a harder path.”
The White House responded with an attack on Obama.
“Barack Hussein Obama is a classless moron who clearly suffers from a debilitating and severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his brain. He is a total disgrace for all the hurt he has caused this country, and history will not judge him well,” White House communications director Steven Cheung, whom Trump outed as a user of “fat drugs,” told the Daily Beast.
After Jackson died, Trump went on a Truth Social posting spree, touting a dozen photos of him with the reverend over the years.
“I knew him well, long before becoming President,” Trump wrote. “He was a good man, with lots of personality, grit, and ‘street smarts.’ He was very gregarious – Someone who truly loved people!”
“Despite the fact that I am falsely and consistently called a Racist by the Scoundrels and Lunatics on the Radical Left, Democrats ALL, it was always my pleasure to help Jesse along the way,” he went on, recounting how he helped Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a renowned social justice advocacy group.
Trump also attacked Obama as “a man who Jesse could not stand.” Though the two men occasionally had tensions, their relationship was largely characterized by mutual respect and support.
Jackson’s son, Jesse Jackson Jr., had a different recollection of his father’s relationship with Trump in an interview with CNN’s The Situation Room.
“One of his last communications to the President of the United States was about tenor. It was about tone. It was about spirit, energy, and it was about the unique challenge before the President of the United States to bring all Americans together, and we see it on a daily basis, the failings of the administration to do just that,” the younger Jackson said.
“And so he was hopeful that his unique relationship with the president might bring a different tenor and tone, and unfortunately, he was never the recipient of a return phone call from the President of the United States,” he added.
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