OPINION:
President George W. Bush stayed out of President Barack Obama’s business for the eight years Mr. Obama ruled the country. It took a little more than one week for Mr. Obama to criticize President Donald Trump.
Through his spokesman, Mr. Obama said he was “heartened” by all of the anti-Trump protests that have erupted throughout the nation.
“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,” Kevin Lewis, Mr. Obama’s spokesman, told The Hill Monday.
“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,” Mr. Lewis told the Hill.
Mr. Lewis added that Mr. Trump’s claims that his immigration executive order is similar to Mr. Obama’s stance in 2011 — when he halted Iraqi immigration for six months — was not at all the case.
“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,” Mr. Lewis added, according to the Hill.
Over the weekend, Mr. Obama’s former National Security Adviser Susan Rice attacked Mr. Trump’s executive order that made changes to his National Security Council, including top White House adviser Steve Bannon.
“This is stone cold crazy. After a week of crazy,” Ms. Rice tweeted. “Who needs military advice or intell to make policy on ISIL, Syria, Afghanistan, DPRK?”
And so it begins. It’s going to be rocky four years.
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