As he’s particularly adept at doing, Donald Trump responded to criticism of him this week with a brief but effective counterpunch. This time the criticism came straight from the highest office in the land, and Trump clearly reveled in responding to “the worst president in U.S. history.”
Without naming the presumptive Republican nominee, President Obama slammed Donald Trump’s “ignorance” in a commencement address over the weekend.
“In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue,” Obama told Rutgers University graduates Sunday, before condemning a conservative vision for America as a retrograde dream of going back to (racist/sexist/homophobic) 1950s America.
“‘In politics, and in life, ignorance is not a virtue.’ This is a primary reason that President Obama is the worst president in U.S. history!”
Donald Trump
“I guess it’s part of human nature, especially in times of change and uncertainty, to want to look backwards and long for some imaginary past when everything worked, and the economy hummed, and all politicians were wise, and every child was well-mannered, and America pretty much did whatever it wanted around the world. Guess what? It ain’t so. The good old days weren’t all that good,” said Obama mockingly of his straw man version of conservatism.
Obama’s jabs at Trump grew more specific: “The world is more interconnected than ever before, and it’s becoming more connected every day. Building walls won’t change that,” Obama said, in obvious reference to Trump’s plan to build an effective wall on the southern border. “Isolating or disparaging Muslims, suggesting that they should be treated differently when it comes to entering this country, that is not just a betrayal of our values, that’s not just a betrayal of who we are. It would alienate the very communities at home and abroad who are our most important partners in the fight against extremism,” said Obama, in a clear nod to Trump’s temporary “Muslim ban.”
In response, Trump took to Twitter to succinctly smack Obama, writing, “‘In politics, and in life, ignorance is not a virtue.’ This is a primary reason that President Obama is the worst president in U.S. history!”
Here’s a video of Obama’s commencement address via the White House:
