Crowd ERUPTS as Obama deals BLOW to Trump

And and since we're. a few weeks away from America's 250th. birthday, it is worth remembering. just how radical the whole idea of. self-government really was back in 1776. To that point, human history was a tale. of conquest and caste. and rigid hierarchies. A world where the strong dominated the. weak.

Where power and wealth and status flowed. through lineage. And the many were ruled by the few. But out of the fire and steel of a. revolution, a different story took. flight on this continent. A declaration that we are all created. equal. Endowed by our creator with certain. unalienable rights. And that in the. newly independent United States, there.

will be no kings or lords, no serfs or. subjects, but only citizens. Each of us free to pursue our own. version of happiness. Enabled to determine our collective fate. through an elected representative. government. It had not been done. And because it hadn't been done before, the success of this experiment was never. a given.

>> Now, you could make a compelling. argument that Barack Obama was not. specifically referencing Donald Trump. when he included in his speech at. today's Obama Center opening that we are. a country founded on the principle that. we have no kings. But you cannot make. the argument that the crowd didn't draw. its own conclusion about exactly who. that applies to today. In fact, I think. that the most telling part of Obama's. adherence to this idea that he's not. some all-powerful ruler, but just a. servant of the people, is his. willingness to do what Trump will never.

do, what Trump could never do, which is. to admit fault, to acknowledge his. shortcomings as he did here. >> Now, of course we did not accomplish. everything we set out to do. No administration does. Some of the exhibits reflect unfinished. business. In some cases, my own shortcomings and. mistakes. In some cases because as a sign I kept. on the Resolute Desk red.

Hard things are hard. And that's especially true. in a big, raucous, diverse, argumentative. democracy like the United States of. America. Everybody's got an opinion. And that means getting stuff done. involves reconciling the demands of a. couple of hundred million people.

Democracy can be frustrating. It can be slow. It can be inefficient. And yet more than anything, I hope this. center will serve as an affirmation of. just how special, how precious. our democracy truly is. And remind us what we can achieve when. we embrace our shared responsibilities. as citizens. >> And although brief, I think that was one.

of the most powerful moments given what. we've been forced to grow accustomed to. This idea that the current president can. do no wrong, and that when he does do. wrong, clearly, it's somebody else's. fault. Case in point, this was literally. yesterday. >> Is there some element to this where you. send the vice president, >> [snorts]. >> if it works out, great, you'll look like. a genius for him. And if it doesn't work. out, it's the vice president. >> that idea, sure. What? This way, if it. works out, I'm going to take the credit. If it doesn't work out, I'm blaming JD.

You better be careful, JD. >> [laughter]. >> He's going to turn his plane around and. get the hell out of here. Yeah, I I like. that idea. I think it's a good idea. >> So, it's no surprise that we've. essentially forgotten what it's like to. live in a world where humility actually. exists in government. Just a quick note. here to say that if you appreciate my. work, which is and always will be 100%. free, a small ask is if you could please. pre-order my new book, The Day After, which explores how Democrats must. finally wield power if they're fortunate. enough to get it back. I'll also be on. tour in DC, New York, and LA mid-July.

You can grab tickets to the tour, and. you can pre-order the book at the same. link, which I'll put on the screen and. in the post description of this video. You can also find them at. briantylercohen.com/book. Again, I'll never paywall a single piece. of content, but this is the one time. that I'll ask for some support for a. book that I really think meets this. moment. Thanks so much. And yet, it is. no surprise that the concept of no kings. has become a recurring theme, not just. for us, where we have these no kings. protests, but for Obama. Not just today, about a year ago, he spoke at the.

Connecticut Forum and said this. >> When. the system is captured. by those who. uh let's say have a weak. uh attachment to democracy. Are not. um. What? I don't even think that's a. controversial statement at this point. No, I'm actually being serious now. It was a.

uh it was a controversial statement. Now, it is self-acknowledged. I mean, if if you follow. regularly. what is said by those who are in charge. of the federal government right now. Uh. there. there is a weak commitment to. what we understood and. not just. uh. my generation, at least since World War.

II, uh. our understanding of of how a. liberal. democracy is supposed to work. And when. I say liberal, I don't mean left. I mean. liberal in the sense of. believing in rule of law and an. independent judiciary and freedom of the. press. and. uh. freedom of assembly and protest. and. uh.

compromise and pluralism. All those institutional norms and laws. that. were. embodied in the Constitution imperfectly. and then over time. were expanded so that we had a a basic. understanding of. like. I can't just be picked up on the street. and hauled off to another country. That that's not something. that's not that's not.

that that wasn't a that wasn't a. partisan view. That wasn't a Republican or Democratic. notion that that shouldn't happen. That. was an American. value and norm. >> Now, again, he didn't mention Trump's. name, but he didn't have to. The. implication was clear enough, as was his. condemnation for the other lack of. respect for the most basic tenets of. democracy. The reality is that for years. Republicans have beat their chests as. these protectors of the rule of law, but.

it was window dressing. It was. marketing. Because the reality is that. we are watching Trump defy court orders, watching Trump federalize the National. Guard and sick them on Americans, watching Trump disappear people with no. due process, watching Trump try and end. birthright citizenship in stark. opposition to the plain text of the. Constitution, watching Trump claim every. election where Republicans lose is. rigged, watching him sick his government. on his enemies in the media, myself. included, watching him do all of these. things, and yet it's been silence from. the self-proclaimed defenders of law and.

order. And that puts the reality on full. display, that these people never. actually cared about the law or the. Constitution or democracy. They just. said what people wanted here to be able. to get into office, and then once they. had power, they could take off the mask, and that's what they've done. All of. those strict constitutionalists are now. standing idly by while Trump runs. roughshod over our democracy, and each. one is more groveling than the next. They each take turns saying and doing. whatever they need to get a little pat. on the head from their god king. And in. case you're unaware of just how far and.

fast the Overton window is shifting, might I remind you that Republicans used. to call Barack Obama a dictator. Here's. one example from former Maine governor. LePage. He said, quote, "Let me be very. clear. I believe the president of the. United States, Barack Obama, is a. dictator. I think he has failed the. American people. He has not worked with. the Congress. And what he has done is he. has used the executive office to put. regulations on our country that's going. to take us decades to get out of.". Trump's interior secretary, Doug Burgum, said the same thing, this time about. Biden. >> But but respectfully, I mean, you're.

calling the democratically elected. president a dictator? >> Well, we've got three branches of. government, uh and this president, more. like any other, has bypassed Congress. cuz as a governor of a natural resources. state and a big ag state, uh we're. facing over 30 rules and mandates. Each. one of those could be 800 pages to 1,400. pages long. None of them have come from. Congress, and all of them could. literally kill the industries that we. have in our state, including base load. electricity, which we need to be. competitive in the arms race around AI.

with China, who's building base load. electricity plants like two a month. So, that's happening without Congress, and. then of course on the student loan thing. when the Supreme Court ruled against. him, then he just said, "Hey, we'll. figure a different way to do it." So, I. I just think that there's again a double. standard here. He is bypassing the other. two branches of government to push an. ideological view, uh whether it's on. economics or whether it's on uh climate. extremism. He's doing that without. without using the other branches, and I. think.

>> you don't like his executive orders, and. you don't like his policies. I. understand that. I don't think anyone. expects the Republican governor to to. agree with President Biden on that. But, it's not a dictatorship. >> Well, I think again part of where this. word has come from is been it'd been a. non-stop uh media attack on President. Trump saying that oh that he that he. might use executive orders when he takes. office, and I'm just was trying to make. again make the point here that under. this current administration most of the. changes that are driving inflation in. our country, uh the stuff he's not doing.

on the border which he could be doing. with executive orders. I mean, the open. borders and the inflation are things. that he's doing by himself alone uh. ignoring the other branches of. government. >> Wow. So, executive orders are the sign. of a dictator, which sure is interesting. because Obama issued 277 executive. orders in 8 years. Biden issued 160 in 4. years. Trump has issued 265 so far in a. year and a half. He's got almost 500 so. far in total. But sure, Obama was the.

dictator because of his executive. orders, which by the way were fewer than. Bush and Clinton, Reagan, Carter, Nixon, Johnson, Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt, Hoover. I think you get the idea. And. look, I could stand here all day and. give every example under the sun, but. the point is clear. Republicans will. find any pretense to be able to wallow. in victimhood at the hands of a. Democrat. But when their side does. something objectively worse, they revel. in it. They are the ultimate. manipulators. Say whatever you have to. say to gain power, and then once you.

have it, traffic in the even worse. corruption and illegality that you once. pretended to despise. This is their game. on full display, and we ignore it at our. own peril. >> [music]. >> Before you go, I'm very excited to. announce that I've written a new book. titled The Day After: How to wield power. in a post-Trump world. The book explores. what is, in my opinion, the single most. important theme that we're dealing with. in politics today and moving forward: power. Specifically, how Republicans.

abuse it and how Democrats refuse to. wield it. This book explains how we got. here and more importantly, how we should. finally wield power if we're fortunate. enough to get it back. It is the. blueprint for progressives who want to. do far more than just restore the status. quo. Please pre-order today by visiting. the link in the episode description or. go to briantylercohen.com/book. You can grab yours from any of the major. retailers like Amazon or Barnes & Noble, or find an independent bookstore closest. to you. That's also listed on that. website. Thanks so much for supporting.

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