President Obama hasn't been on the campaign trail much this election season, and a story out of Maryland on Sunday suggests that's a good thing for Democratic candidates' prospects. When Obama spoke at a campaign event for gubernatorial candidate Anthony Brown, many rally attendees walked out. Whether the walkout was a reflection of Obama's poor approval rating or simply the length of the event is not clear.
The crowd of 8,000 was mostly African-American, and they represent a district in which 90 percent of voters supported Obama in his 2012 reelection bid. Nevertheless, audience members left "by the dozen" as Obama's speech progressed, a move a Reuters reporter on hand characterized as "noticeable and noisy." The president wasn't left totally alone, though; the majority of the audience stayed, though some apparently stuck around to heckle him.
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.
-
Marbled tea eggs recipeThe Week Recommends With a beautiful exterior, these eggs are also marked by their soft yolk
-
The Washington Post: kowtowing to Trump?Talking Point The newspaper's opinion editor has handed in his notice following edict from Jeff Bezos
-
Gene Hackman: the death of a Hollywood legendThe French Connection actor had an extraordinary gift for making characters believable
-
Trump eases Mexico, Canada tariffs again as markets slidespeed read The president suspended some of the 25% tariffs he imposed on Mexican and Canadian imports
-
Trump tells Cabinet they are in charge of layoffs, not MuskSpeed Read The White House has faced mounting complaints about DOGE's sweeping cuts
-
Rep. Sylvester Turner dies, weeks after joining HouseSpeed Read The former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator left behind a final message for Trump: 'Don't mess with Medicaid'
-
Trump pauses Ukraine intelligence sharingSpeed Read The decision is intended to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin
-
Supreme Court rules against Trump on aid freezeSpeed Read The court rejected the president's request to freeze nearly $2 billion in payments for foreign humanitarian work
-
Trump touts early wins in partisan speech to CongressSpeed Read The president said he is 'just getting started' with his sweeping changes to immigration, the economy and foreign policy
-
Trudeau blasts Trump's 'very dumb' trade warSpeed Read Retaliatory measures have been announced by America's largest trading partners following Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China
-
Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine after public spatSpeed Read Trump and J.D. Vance berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy for what they saw as insufficient gratitude
