During MSNBC’s 11 a.m. ET hour on Monday, minutes before Barack Obama began his first public appearance since leaving office, correspondent Ron Allen channeled left-wing hopes that the former president would emerge as the “opposition leader” to President Trump.
While Allen noted that Obama was “not going to take on President Trump directly” during the panel discussion at the University of Chicago, he claimed that it was “a very unusual situation”: “You have a very popular former president who’s just 55, very vigorous....And you have a president, President Trump, whose administration is so diametrically opposed and is dismantling so many things that President Obama spent eight years putting together...”
Allen touted liberals imploring Obama to attack Trump:
...his supporters, his advocates, those who back President Obama, they really want to hear from him. Democrats are feeling somewhat desperate, you might even say. They’re demoralized by the results of the election, they see a hero in President Obama. And the question is whether he will play that big role, that big opposition leader role that so many of his supporters want.
Here is a full transcript of the April 24 report:
11:39 AM ET
ALI VELSHI: In just a few minutes, former President Barack Obama will make his first public appearance since leaving office in the place where he launched his political career decades ago. He’s gonna speak to young leaders about community service and civic engagement at the University of Chicago. That happens at the top of the hour.
Last night, he visited a program called Chicago Cred on the city’s south side, which mentors at-risk young adults and helps them with job skills and employment opportunities. Ron Allen is live in Chicago. Ron, good to see you. Students are going to hear from President Obama, they’re also going to be able to ask him questions. President Trump, his name or some reference to him is likely to come up. What do we think President Obama’s gonna do?
RON ALLEN: That’s the million-dollar question, how will President Trump’s name come up and what will President Obama say about him? Because that’s what everybody wants to know. The Obama team is signaling that he is not going to take on President Trump directly, that that’s not what this is about. This is about former President Obama sitting down with young people, talking about civic engagement, getting involved in their community and so forth.
But obviously we’re in some unchartered waters here, it’s a very unusual situation. You have a very popular former president who’s just 55, very vigorous, planning to get out there, out on the public stage in some way. And you have a president, President Trump, whose administration is so diametrically opposed and is dismantling so many things that President Obama spent eight years putting together, like ObamaCare, like policies on immigration, the environment, so on and so forth.
So that’s the big question, what will President Obama say, what will he do? But the signal is that he’s going to not get involved in the day to day give and take of back and forth between President Trump. He doesn’t want to set himself up as a foil for President Trump. But again, his supporters, his advocates, those who back President Obama, they really want to hear from him. Democrats are feeling somewhat desperate, you might even say. They’re demoralized by the results of the election, they see a hero in President Obama. And the question is whether he will play that big role, that big opposition leader role that so many of his supporters want. Ali?
VELSHI: Ron, good to talk to you. We will look forward to hearing from President Obama at the top of the hour. Ron Allen for us in Chicago.
