Obama On Recent Shootings: "No Other Developed Nation Tolerates Levels Of Gun Violence That We Do"

President Obama issued a statement today regarding the twin mass shootings that occurred over the weekend.

After sharing condolences from his family for the victims of the attacks, Obama wrote, "No other nation on Earth comes close to experiencing the frequency of mass shootings that we see in the United State. No other developed nation tolerates the levels of gun violence that we do."

He also called out those who say "tougher gun laws won't stop all murders" because "the evidence shows that they can stop some killings."

The former president also wrote of the accused El Paso shooter: "Troubled individuals who embrace racist ideologies and themselves obligated to act violently to preserve white supremacy."

"We should soundly reject language coming of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racists sentiments; leaders who demonize those who don't look like us, or suggest that other people, including immigrants, threaten our way of life, or refer to other people as sub-human, or imply that America belongs to just one certain type of people," said Obama in closing.

You can read the full statement below.

pic.twitter.com/nNOVtQ50O4

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 5, 2019

New Yorker: Trump Considered Revoking President Obama's Security Clearance

Donald Trump

According to a new article in The New Yorker, Donald Trump considered revoking President Obama's security clearance.

Some of Trump’s most fervent supporters in the White House saw former Obama Administration officials as powerful enemies who threatened the new President’s rule, and they agitated for punishing them by revoking their security clearances. The idea was rebuffed by the national-security adviser at the time, H. R. McMaster, who signed a memo extending the clearances of his predecessors at the N.S.C., Republicans and Democrats alike.

As Trump stepped up his public and private attacks on Obama, some of the new President’s advisers thought that he should take the extraordinary step of denying Obama himself access to intelligence briefings that were made available to all of his living predecessors. Trump was told about the importance of keeping former Presidents, who frequently met with foreign leaders, informed. In the end, Trump decided not to exclude Obama, at the urging of McMaster.

It will come as no surprise that the Donald denies ever considering taking away Obama's security clearance.

Does anyone believe Trump?

Me neither.

Fake News, of which there is soooo much (this time the very tired New Yorker) falsely reported that I was going to take the extraordinary step of denying Intelligence Briefings to President Obama. Never discussed or thought of!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 21, 2018

Trump: Revoke Obama’s security clearance.

Aide: But, Mr. President—

Trump: LeBron too!

— Michael Blackman (@mikerblackman) August 18, 2018

So #FatNixon wanted to revoke Obama's security clearance, but not any of other living former presidents.

Humm, now I wonder, what is it that is different about Obama and the other four?

😒

— ✊🏻 LilMzResistanista ✊🏻 (@bruntofitall) August 20, 2018

Former Obama Photographer Announces New Book "Shade: A Tale Of Two Presidents"

Former White House photographer Pete Souza has announced a new book of his photography titled, Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents.

In announcing the book earlier this year, the publisher shared that the book would contrast the two presidents with “unforgettable images of President Obama delivering new power and meaning when framed by tweets, headlines, quotes, and other material from the first 500 days of the Trump administration.”

In revealing the cover via his Instagram, Souza wrote, "If OBAMA: An Intimate Portrait is a coffee table book, then SHADE is an every table book. If you’ve been following my Instagram feed since the last inauguration, then you have an idea what this book is about (but of course there will be some surprises."

With a drop date of October 16, you can pre-order the new book here.

The photographer, who currently has almost 2 million followers on Instagram, regularly uses the platform to troll Donald Trump via photos from Obama's presidency and contrasting with whatever is in the current news cycle.

At one point last year, he shared a series of 15 Time Magazine covers captioned: "Someone has a lot of catching up to do."

If you don't follow him there, you should. He's very clever.

Here are a few examples:

Merrick Garland was nominated by President Obama on March 16, 2016, eight MONTHS before the Presidential election. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to give him a hearing. Eleven days after the inauguration, the new president nominated Neil Gorsuch and he had a hearing eight weeks later. Let’s never forget that. Elections have consequences.

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Jun 26, 2018 at 8:36am PDT

Listening during a bipartisan Congressional meeting on immigration. He didn’t send out a nonsensical tweet whose premise is against the law.

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Jun 24, 2018 at 2:13pm PDT

How a sitting President of the United States, left, usually relates to a former President of the United States, right.

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Jun 16, 2018 at 5:33pm PDT

Obama Takes Veiled Swipe At Trump Immigration Policy On 'World Refugee Day'

President Barack Obama

In observing World Refugee Day, former President Obama took a not-so-veiled swipe at Donald Trump's hideous policy of separating families at the southern U.S. border.

From Obama's Facebook page:

Today is World Refugee Day.

If you've been fortunate enough to have been born in America, imagine for a moment if circumstance had placed you somewhere else. Imagine if you'd been born in a country where you grew up fearing for your life, and eventually the lives of your children. A place where you finally found yourself so desperate to flee persecution, violence, and suffering that you'd be willing to travel thousands of miles under cover of darkness, enduring dangerous conditions, propelled forward by that very human impulse to create for our kids a better life.

That's the reality for so many of the families whose plights we see and heart-rending cries we hear. And to watch those families broken apart in real time puts to us a very simple question: are we a nation that accepts the cruelty of ripping children from their parents’ arms, or are we a nation that values families, and works to keep them together? Do we look away, or do we choose to see something of ourselves and our children?

Our ability to imagine ourselves in the shoes of others, to say “there but for the grace of God go I,” is part of what makes us human. And to find a way to welcome the refugee and the immigrant – to be big enough and wise enough to uphold our laws and honor our values at the same time – is part of what makes us American. After all, almost all of us were strangers once, too. Whether our families crossed the Atlantic, the Pacific, or the Rio Grande, we’re only here because this country welcomed them in, and taught them that to be an American is about something more than what we look like, how our last names sound, or the way we worship. To be an American is to have a shared commitment to an ideal – that all of us are created equal, and all of us deserve the chance to become something better.

That’s the legacy our parents and grandparents and generations before created for us, and it’s something we have to protect for the generations to come. But we have to do more than say “this isn’t who we are.” We have to prove it – through our policies, our laws, our actions, and our votes.

6 Years Ago Today...

Six years ago today, Barack Obama became the first sitting president to announce support for same-sex marriage.

In an interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts, the president described his thought process as an “evolution” that led him to this place.

"I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors.

"When I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together...

"When I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage...

"At a certain point I’ve just concluded that, for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married."

His endorsement came less than a week after Vice President Joe Biden embraced the issue during an appearance on Meet The Press.

And I feel that made a world of difference.

Please note - the sky has not fallen. Just saying...

Barack & Michelle Obama May Produce New Series For Netflix

(image via Instagram)

Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are reported to be in advanced talks with Netflix to produce a new series of high-profile shows that could explore the former president's interest in the intersection of politics and media.

From The New York Times:

Under terms of a proposed deal, which is not yet final, Netflix would pay Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, for exclusive content that would be available only on the streaming service, which has nearly 118 million subscribers around the world. The number of episodes and the formats for the shows have not been decided.

Mr. Obama does not intend to use his Netflix shows to directly respond to President Trump or conservative critics, according to people familiar with discussions about the programming. They said the Obamas had talked about producing shows that highlight inspirational stories.

But the Netflix deal, while not a direct answer to Fox News or Breitbart.com, would give Mr. Obama an unfiltered method of communication with the public similar to the audiences he already reaches through social media, with 101 million Twitter followers and 55 million people who have liked his Facebook page.

The Obamas are a hot commodity. In addition Netflix, other media companies like Apple and Amazon have expressed interest in content creation with the former White House residents.

Trump's State Of The Union Address Draws Millions Fewer Viewers Than Obama

Now, we all know how Donald Trump loves good TV ratings.

"The most! The best! The bestest!"

With that in mind, I'm betting the Trumpster won't be pleased to know that his first SOTU address pulled in fewer viewers by the millions than Barack Obama's first SOTU.

Via Variety:

Viewership of President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address is down slightly in the Nielsen ratings compared to his first televised address to Congress last February as well as President Barack Obama’s first such address.

On broadcast, Tuesday’s coverage of the speech drew 7.1 million viewers on NBC, 7 million on CBS, 5.4 million on ABC, and 3.6 million on Fox for a combined 23.1 million viewers.

On cable, Fox News led by a wide margin with 11.5 million viewers tuning into the network’s coverage of the speech. CNN was second with 3.1 million, with MSNBC drawing 2.7 million. That means that President Trump’s address drew 40.4 million viewers across broadcast and cable

Obama’s first State of the Union in 2010 drew 48 million viewers across broadcast and cable, while his first address before a joint session of Congress in February 2009 drew 52.4 million viewers. That means that Trump trailed Obama’s first State of the Union by approximately 16 percent in total viewers.

David Letterman Returns To Talk Show TV With Barack Obama As First Guest

Beginning January 12, David Letterman will return to talk show TV with his new Netflix series, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.

The monthly series, consisting of one-hour chats, has announced six episodes thus far.

And Letterman's first guest is quite the get - former President Barack Obama in his first talk show appearance since leaving the White House.

Future guests include George Clooney, Malala Yousafzai, Jay-Z, Tina Fey and Howard Stern.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, each episode will focus on just one guest with Letterman engaging in in-depth chat. Additionally, the show will have field segments also related to that installment's guest.

The launch of the new show marks Letterman's first return to regular appearances since he left CBS in 2015.

Watch the trailer below.

Barack Obama On World AIDS Day 2017

Former President Obama made this video message for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel's special World AIDS Day event encouraging folks to take part in supporting the fight against HIV/AIDS.

“This World AIDS Day, everyone has a role to play. Jimmy Kimmel’s not just a talk-show host, he’s an activist. Bono’s not just a musician, he’s ring master of a whole shopping extravaganza,” Obama says in the video. “And me, I’m not just a former president, I’m a husband who hasn’t done his Christmas shopping yet.”

“When it comes to the fight against HIV/AIDs, there’s some genuinely good news to share,” Obama said. “For the first time in history, more than half of all people living with the virus are on life-saving medication.”

And he's right. But those kinds of changes only happen when people actually DO something.

Hit the video below and find out what you can do this World AIDS Day, Friday December 1, 2017.

p.s. Remember what it was like to have a smart, dignified president who spoke about important issues like saving lives...?

Middle-Class Incomes In 2016 Reached Highest Level Ever Recorded

Here's President Obama's final report card on the economy for the last year of his presidency.

And the news is good.

According to the Census Bureau, middle-class American incomes reached the highest level ever recorded in 2016.

From the Washington Post:

Median household income rose to $59,039 in 2016, a 3.2 percent increase from the previous year and the second consecutive year of healthy gains, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

The nation’s poverty rate fell to 12.7 percent, returning nearly to what it was in 2007 before a financial crisis and deep recession walloped workers in ways that were still felt years later.

“There’s a danger that this is as good as it gets,” said Peter Atwater, president of Financial Insyghts. “We are already at a 16-year low in unemployment. The likelihood of significant job growth from here is limited.”

Trump promised that a combination of tax cuts, infrastructure investment packages, renegotiated trade deals and the repeal of Obama administration regulations would deliver a burst of job creation and attendant economic growth.

So far, no such boom can be found.

In Trump’s first seven months, the U.S. economy has added about 25,000 fewer jobs per month than it did during the last seven months of Barack Obama’s presidency.

It'll be interesting to see how the next three years go under Trump having been handed a healthy U.S. economy.

Barack Obama Sets Record For Most 'Liked' Tweet In History

President Barack Obama

This is certain to drive Donald Trump insane.

As he displayed an appalling lack of moral courage taking days to denounce the white supremacists' violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, this past weekend, an uplifting tweet from President Obama became the most "Liked" in Twitter history.

On Saturday evening, Obama shared a Nelson Mandela quote: “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion…”

It became the tweet seen 'round the world.

At this writing, the tweet has been 'Liked" over 3.1 million times, and retweeted by 1.2 million people.

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion..." pic.twitter.com/InZ58zkoAm

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 13, 2017

Obama: Decision To Withdraw From Paris Climate Agreement An "Absence Of American Leadership"

Addressing President Trump's announcement to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement today, Barack Obama issued a rare statement calling the move an "absence of American leadership."

Additionally, Obama zinged, "This Administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future."

Here is President Obama's full statement:

A year and a half ago, the world came together in Paris around the first-ever global agreement to set the world on a low-carbon course and protect the world we leave to our children.

It was steady, principled American leadership on the world stage that made that achievement possible. It was bold American ambition that encouraged dozens of other nations to set their sights higher as well. And what made that leadership and ambition possible was America’s private innovation and public investment in growing industries like wind and solar – industries that created some of the fastest new streams of good-paying jobs in recent years, and contributed to the longest streak of job creation in our history.

Simply put, the private sector already chose a low-carbon future. And for the nations that committed themselves to that future, the Paris Agreement opened the floodgates for businesses, scientists, and engineers to unleash high-tech, low-carbon investment and innovation on an unprecedented scale.

The nations that remain in the Paris Agreement will be the nations that reap the benefits in jobs and industries created. I believe the United States of America should be at the front of the pack. But even in the absence of American leadership; even as this Administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future; I’m confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we’ve got.

The 2015 agreement was adopted by 195 countries seeking to decrease carbon emissions and combat climate change.

Only two other countries, Syria and Nicaragua, are not part of the agreement.

Meme Of The Day

Video: President Obama Accepts The 2017 Profile In Courage Award

Remember when, just a few months ago, America had a real president.

Dignified, intelligent, well-spoken and thoughtful.

A president that oversaw the greatest expansion of economic growth in the U.S. since the Great Depression.

And a man who inspired millions during a difficult time in American history.

Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, present the 2017 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award to former President Barack H. Obama as part of the centennial celebration of John F. Kennedy’s birth.

Watch below.

Just Because: What A Real President Looks Like

Don't expect to hear ANY support for the National Equality March for Unity & Pride on June 11th from President Babyhands.

Trump's Congressional Speech Pulls In 17% Fewer Viewers Than Obama's First Address

Well, you know this is going to irritate some thin orange skin in the West Wing.

From Mediaite:

Well, the overnight ratings are in from Nielsen, and as expected, President Donald Trump’s address to the joint session of Congress drew a significant television audience. However, it didn’t do nearly as well as President Barack Obama’s first address in February 2009.

Looking at seven networks that carried the speech live — ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, Fox News, CNN and MSNBC — the address pulled in a combined household rating of 27.8 in the overnight ratings of Nielsen’s metered markets.

In comparison, Obama’s first presidential address nabbed an early rating of 33.4, a difference of 17%. Those early numbers for Obama turned into a final audience of 52.4 million across the broadcast and cable networks. Comparably, George W. Bush’s first address grabbed 39.8 million viewers.

President Obama Hits The Waves In Post-White House Days

(images by Jack Brockway)

While President Trump tangles with pushback on executive orders and insulting the media, Barack Obama is riding waves with billionaire, Sir Richard Branson, of the Virgin business group:

One of the first stories Barack told me when he and Michelle arrived on Moskito Island was how, just before he became President, he had been surfing on a dangerous break in Hawaii. When he came in from an exhilarating session, the new head of his security team turned to him and said: “This will be the last time you surf for eight years.” For the next eight years he didn’t have the chance to surf, enjoy watersports or do many of the things he loved.

So it was tremendous to offer him the chance to learn to kitesurf. The sport has really taken off in the past decade and we have the perfect conditions and team to help anyone learn. I have also wanted to learn foilboard surfing. So we decided to set up a friendly challenge: could Barack learn to kitesurf before I learned to foilboard? We agreed to have a final day battle to see who could stay up the longest.

Trump's Pre-Super Bowl Interview Falls Far Short Of Obama's Ratings

The Donald will not be pleased to hear that, once again, he got beat in the ratings by President Obama.

According to Variety,  President Trump's pre-Super Bowl interview with Bill O'Reilly drew 12.2 million viewers.

President Obama's first pre-Super Bowl interview, back in 2009 with NBC's Matt Lauer, garnered 21.9 million viewers. That's 9.7 million more than Trump.

In 2011, fresh off his re-election win, Obama's 2011 pre-game chat with Bill O'Reilly drew 17.3 million. That's still more than 5 million more than Trump.

Even during non-election years, Obama pulled better numbers than the Trumpster.  In 2016, Obama’s interview drew 14.9 million; in 2015, 16.4 million; in 2014, 18 million.

Cue the Twitter rant in 3, 2, 1...

White House Announces LGBT Executive Order Will Remain Intact

The White House issued this statement last night in regards to rumors that the Trump administration was circulating an executive order draft which would repeal President Obama's LGBT protections.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 31, 2017

President Donald J. Trump Will Continue to Enforce Executive Order Protecting the Rights of the LGBTQ Community in the Workplace

President Donald J. Trump is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community. President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election. The President is proud to have been the first ever GOP nominee to mention the LGBTQ community in his nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression. The executive order signed in 2014, which protects employees from anti-LGBTQ workplace discrimination while working for federal contractors, will remain intact at the direction of President Donald J. Trump.

President Obama's 2014 executive order was the first ever to bar federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT employees. The EO was, in part, a response to the GOP-controlled Congress who clearly were never going to pass the dead-on-arrival Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Although this is good news, it does not mean President Trump may attempt to issue additional executive orders which may give some kind of "religious freedom" clause.

Given the past few days chaos over Trump's immigration EO, plus the fact I believe the sources who reported the draft of a repeal, I tend to believe Trump wasn't up for more protests.

This is just my gut, but I think the EO draft may have been the brain child of notoriously anti-LGBT Vice President Mike Pence in an attempt to appease social conservatives in the Republican party.

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, issued a statement which read in part, “L.G.B.T.Q. refugees, immigrants, Muslims and women are scared today, and with good reason,” Mr. Griffin said. “Donald Trump has done nothing but undermine equality since he set foot in the White House.”

President Obama: 'Fundamentally Disagrees' With Trump Immigration Order

President Obama has issued a statement regarding President Trump's controversial immigration executive order:

President Obama is heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country. In his final official speech as President, he spoke about the important role of citizen and how all Americans have a responsibility to be the guardians of our democracy -- not just during an election but every day.

Citizens exercising their Constitutional right to assemble, organize and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake.

With regard to comparisons to President Obama's foreign policy decisions, as we've heard before, the President fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion.

While normally former presidents don't chime in on a new president's actions, in that the Trump administration has brought up Obama's name as "having done the same thing" regarding immigration bans in the past, I think it's fair game for Obama to issue a statement.

In the past 24 hours, Trump representatives have begun pointing to a ban of Iraq immigrants during Obama's time in the White House.

From CNN:

Trump's order temporarily banned immigration from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia and indefinitely stopped Syrian refugees from coming to the United States.

Though the current White House has compared Trump's action to what Obama did in 2011 when "he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months," Obama's move was much narrower in scope. It was crafted in response to two Iraqi refugees implicated in a bomb making scheme and while it did not outright ban refugees from coming to the United States, it did increase the amount of vetting each Iraqi refugee received.

It's a curious tactic, in my view, for Trump to campaign on a strong message of criticizing everything the Obama administration did, and then once in office and use an excuse of "Obama did it."

#Weak

JUST IN: Former Pres. Obama says he "fundamentally disagrees" with Trump's immigration order https://t.co/42MTG3Wldy https://t.co/UCjaTrE5lB

— CNN (@CNN) January 30, 2017