Obama delivers farewell vision to fans
UNITED STATES: US President Barack Obama blasted ‘‘zero-sum’’ politics as he drew a sharp contrast with his successor Donald Trump in his farewell address yesterday, acknowledging that despite his historic election eight years ago, his vision for the country will exit the White House with him.
Obama’s speech in his home town of Chicago was a call for political engagement after a gruelling election won by Trump, who made undoing Obama’s achievements the centrepiece of his campaign.
The president made an appeal for the American people to embrace inclusiveness and to preserve his legacy before his Republican successor is inaugurated on January 20.
‘‘If every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hard-working white middle class and undeserving minorities, then workers of all shades will be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves,’’ he said.
‘‘If we decline to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don’t look like us, we diminish the prospects of our own children ... because those brown kids will represent a larger share of America’s workforce. ‘‘
The transition to Trump’s presidency loomed large over the address, and one senior administration official familiar with the speech’s drafting said Obama recognised the conflicting emotions within the American electorate.
But Obama sought to present a vision of transcending politics, organised around the belief that his administration - and the history of the US - demonstrates the power of engagement between citizens and the government.
‘‘Our democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted,’’ he said. ‘‘All of us, regardless of party, should throw ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions.’’
The speech was one of Obama’s last opportunities to make the case for policies, like the Affordable Care Act and Wall Street regulation, that Trump has vowed to repeal.
He appealed to American citizens to embrace tolerance, drawing an unspoken contrast with the president-elect, who has called for walling off the US border with Mexico and ending the admission of refugees from war-torn Muslim countries.
- Tns-bloomberg