President Obama had strong words of exhortation and critique for black voters and Republican nominee Donald Trump, respectively, while speaking at a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation event Saturday evening.
"I will consider it a personal insult and an insult to my legacy if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election," he said, adding in a plug for Democrat Hillary Clinton, "My name may not be on the ballot, but our progress is on the ballot. Tolerance is on the ballot. Democracy is on the ballot. Justice is on the ballot. Good schools are on the ballot. Ending mass incarceration, that's on the ballot right now."
Turning to Trump, Obama wryly joked about the birther controversy Trump helped fuel. He also alluded to the candidate's suggestion "that there's never been a worse time to be a black person," positing that Trump must have "missed that whole civics lesson about slavery or Jim Crow."
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.
-
‘Every teacher is a literacy teacher’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Pull over for these one-of-a-kind gas stationsThe Week Recommends Fill ’er up next to highland cows and a giant soda bottle
-
Trump tariff uncertainty casts a dark cloud over Black FridayIN THE SPOTLIGHT Retailers and shoppers alike are starting to reassess their seasonal prospects as the Trump administration’s efforts to upturn the global economy start hitting close to home
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
