Obama spins Arizona heckling incident into lesson on toxic politics: 'We have to stay focused'

Former President Barack Obama was heckled during a Wednesday rally in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was stumping for Democrats Sen. Mark Kelly and gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs.
Republicans want "an economy that's very good for folks at the very top, but not always so good for ordinary people," Obama said during the event, per The Washington Post.
But a man interrupted: "Like you, Obama!"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The former president then calmed down the crowd (which had broken out boos) before asking the "young man" to "just listen for a second. You know you have to be polite and civil when people are talking, then other people are talking and then you get a chance to talk."
"Set up your own rally!" Obama went on. "A lot of people worked hard for this. Come on, man."
As the event continued and the crowd quieted down, Obama spun the heckling incident into a lesson on civility and extremism in politics, the Post notes. "You got one person yelling and suddenly everybody's yelling. You get one tweet that's stupid and suddenly everybody's obsessed with the tweet," he said. "We can't fall for that. We have to stay focused."
The former president was heckled last week, as well, during an appearance in Michigan on behalf of Democratic candidate Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year high
Speed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
The New York Times plays defense after publishing leaked Mamdani college application details
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The decision to publish details of Zohran Mamdani's Columbia University application has reignited simmering questions about sourcing and editorial guidelines
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin on August 1, with rates ranging from 25% to 40% on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
'It's America that refuses to listen and learn'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities