Obama vs. Trump: The clash everyone's waited for arrives
But on Friday, at least, the current president barely mustered a response to the blistering critique leveled against him by his predecessor.
By EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE and ANDREW RESTUCCIA 09/07/2018 09:16 PM EDT
URBANA, Ill. Barack Obama went hard. Donald Trump hardly responded.
Friday was the day Republicans and Democrats and pretty much every reporter and political obsessive have been dreaming of the two presidents who couldnt be more different, who are both the throbbing hearts of their own bases and the nightmare of the others going head to head.
Six weeks before the midterms that are existential for both of their visions of the future, Obama unleashed for the first time with an indictment of Trump and Republicans that stopped just short of calling them traitors to the American ideal. Trump, whos been swiping at Obama on Twitter and other appearances almost every chance he gets and months ago said Democrats who didnt clap for his state of the union address had committed treason, made a joke about sleeping through it. A few hours later, he congratulated himself for the joke.
That seems to be the quote of the day, by the way, which I sort of figured," Trump told donors in South Dakota.
Obama delivered some choice quotes of his own during his speech at the University of Illinois. How hard can that be? Saying that Nazis are bad? he asked. Later, he called Trumps Twitter feed electronic versions of bread and circuses.
People close to Trump say he has long complained about the fawning coverage and adulation that he believes Obama has received, even after leaving the White House. The dynamic has only bolstered his deep-seated belief that hell never be treated fairly or given credit in establishment Washington.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/07/obama-trump-speech-2018-811257