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Salon
Salon
Politics
Nandika Chatterjee

Trump mad Obamas took shots at him

Former President Donald Trump is not happy with the Obamas after they blasted him in Democratic National Convention speeches on Tuesday.

While the nation’s first black president mocked Trump’s tireless “stream of gripes and grievances” and “weird” obsession with crowd sizes, the former first lady mocked the Republican’s previous comments at the National Association of Black Journalists. She said, “Who’s gonna tell [Trump] that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs?” 

The 78-year-old Trump did muster up a response to the ridicule, if only a day later. He asked his supporters on Wednesday during a rally in Asheboro, North Carolina if they had seen the Obamas’ speeches —“Did you see Barack Hussein Obama last night? Taking little shots, he was taking shots at your president. And so is Michelle.” 

“They always say, sure, please stick to policy, don’t get personal,” Trump complained. “And yet they’re getting personal all night long, these people. Do I still have to stick to policy?” asked a clearly upset Trump.

The former president has recently received considerable criticism from his own party and campaign members who want him to stay on message, especially while questions regarding his ability to lead at his age have begun to spread.

During what was supposed to be his national security speech, Trump —who has spent much of his campaign succumbing to what Barack Obama called “childish nicknames” to show up his political opponent, Kamala Harris — took a “free poll” from his supporters on whether he too should “get personal.”

David Axelrod, the chief strategist for the 2008 and 2012 Obama presidential campaigns, told the Guardian on Wednesday that Trump is struggling to pigeonhole Harris with his insults that have varied from racial ones to ones questioning her intelligence. 

“He’s a jazz man when it comes to all of this and he gets in front of a crowd and he tries to find the groove and he throws everything against the wall,” Axelrod said. “It’s generally bile, it’s personal and it’s negative. But he’s just trying out themes.”

This might be true based on Trump’s own admission during his North Carolina rally, he told his supporters: “This calamity is on Comrade Kamala Harris. I think her name will be Comrade because I think that’s the most accurate name. You know I’ve been looking for a name. I really didn’t find one with her.” 

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