At a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday night, Barack Obama confronted a heckler who was hounding him for his comments on the economy.
The former president also used the incident to reiterate President Joe Biden’s warning that democracy is on the ballot next week when voters decide which political party will control the House and Senate.
Obama argued Republicans wanted to reward the rich when a heckler bemoaned his own millionaire status. Barack and Michelle Obama made their names after leaving the White House, which included six-figure deals with Netflix and Crown Publishing.
Republicans want “an economy that’s very good for the people at the top, but not always so good for the common people,” Obama said when he was interrupted.
“Like you, Obama!” a young male heckler shouted at him.
‘Are you starting to scream?’ Obama replied.
The crowd of nearly 1,000 people began booing loudly to drown out the protester.
At a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday night, Barack Obama confronted a heckler who was hounding him for his comments on the economy
The young male heckler who interrupted Obama’s speech
Obama tried to restore calm.
“Wait, everyone stick together,” Obama said. “Hey, young man, listen a minute. You know you have to be polite and polite when people talk, then other people talk and then you get a chance to talk.”
As the crowd continued to roar, Obama urged them to calm down. Stay focused.’
He then turned to make his main argument – that politics is too demonized and causes people to get hurt.
“It’s part of what’s happening in our politics today. We’re getting distracted,” Obama said.
“One person is screaming and suddenly everyone is screaming. You get a stupid tweet and suddenly everyone is obsessed with the tweet. We can’t fall for that. We have to stay focused,” he said.
Arizona has become ground zero for electoral controversy. The 2020 result has been repeatedly challenged in the state, and two lawsuits have already been filed in federal court on behalf of voters who felt intimidated by aggressive ballot box patrols late last month.
Obama said voters in the state had a choice and the outcome could mean “democracy as we know it may not survive in Arizona.”
“Democracy as we know it is on the ballot. And nowhere is that clearer than here in Arizona,” the former president said.
“If you have election deniers who serve as your governor, as your senator, as your secretary of state, as your attorney general, then democracy as we know it may not survive in Arizona,” Obama said. “That’s not an exaggeration. That’s a fact.’
He was referring to Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, a former television actor and voter’s evader. Lake said she did not confirm the results of the 2020 presidential election. She also hedged when asked if she would accept the results of her own competition.
Lake and other GOP candidates across the country have repeated Donald Trump’s “big lie” that he was the winner of the 2020 contest and a victim of voter fraud. Multiple lawsuits and recounts have confirmed Biden’s victory.
Lake is just ahead of Katie Hobbs, the Democratic nominee.
Arizona became a hotbed of political conspiracies after the last presidential campaign.
Biden won the state by less than a point over Trump. Several recounts confirmed his victory, but abstainers demanded recount after recount – even going so far as to search the ballots for bamboo when trying to argue foreign power interference. Evidence of this was not found. Biden’s victory was confirmed.
But Trump handpicked the candidates for the top office this year in Arizona – governor, senator and secretary of state, which is the office that oversees the election.
Barack Obama (right) campaigning for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs (center) and Democratic Senator Mark Kelly (left)
Barack Obama is hugged as he processes the crowd after his remarks
Real Clear Politics projections show that Republicans will win the House and Senate next Tuesday
Barack and Michelle Obama became millionaires after leaving the WHITE house and buying a home in Martha’s Vineyard
Obama also campaigned for Democratic Senator Mark Kelly on Wednesday, who is campaigning against Republican Blake Masters.
Masters has also denied the results of the 2020 election. State Assemblyman Mark Finchem, who is running for Secretary of State, is famous in electoral conspiracy circles. If he wins, he will oversee the 2024 competition in the state.
Obama specifically targeted Lake, who is close to Trump. Some Democrats worry she could be his running mate if he runs for president in 2024 — or could run for president herself.
Obama accused Lake “of being Donald Trump’s best friend.”
“She’s good in front of the camera because she’s been doing it for a long time,” Obama said of Lake.
He noted that she interviewed him in 2016 when she was a local TV host and he was running for president.
“I have to admit I don’t have a clear memory of the interview, it’s a bit blurry,” he said.
But he added: “If we hadn’t just chosen someone whose main qualification was being on television, you could see that maybe we’d give it a try. What’s the worst that could happen? Well, now we know! It doesn’t work just because someone was on TV.”
“It turns out there’s more to the presidency or the governorship than crisp lines and good lighting,” he said.
Democrats have pushed the Nov. 8 election as a choice between democracy and autocracy, though voters say the economy and the high cost of living are their top concerns.
Republicans are favored to win the House of Representatives in next week’s election. The Senate is considered contested.
Barack Obama criticized Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake for saying she didn’t confirm the 2020 election results
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly with his wife Gabby Giffords
Biden, in a speech Wednesday night warning of threats to democracy, warned that “dark forces with a thirst for power” could gain the upper hand in next week’s midterm elections.
Crime is also another problem, voters say.
Both Biden and Obama cited last week’s attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their speeches.
Paul Pelosi lies in the hospital after being hit with a hammer by a man who broke into her San Francisco home looking for the speaker. She was in Washington DC at the time.
Obama said he spoke to Paul. “Luckily I spoke to Paul a few days ago and he’ll be fine,” he said.