Two weeks into Trump’s second term and it’s official: America f’d around, and now we’re finding out. As an onslaught of horrific policies, headlines, and announcements with typos roll out of the 47th president’s administration, many voters (who aren’t melanated) are acting stunned and shocked that Trump is doing everything he said he would do — from DEI cuts to setting his sights on undocumented immigrants.
No one who paid attention during the 2024 election should have their mouths dropped. But as is often the case when everything goes bad, we tend to wonder what Black people in power are doing about it...this time around, that includes our former president: “Where’s Obama,” some have begun to ponder.
Since his appearance at Trump’s inauguration, former President Barack Obama has been noticeably silent on all the current debauchery caused by his successor. He’s posted condolences to families impacted by the wildfires and recent plane crashes; and he’s publicly recognized Black History Month.
But not a damn word regarding everything happening in his former office. And you know what...? I don’t blame him.
For starters, Obama warned us about Trump...many times. All those passionate speeches across the country during the Kamala Harris campaign were everywhere. Who could forget his iconic gesture during his 2024 Democratic National Convention speech when he measured Trump’s…ego? From 2016 to now, Obama has been telling us of the dangers of a Trump presidency.
He did it in 2016 for Hillary Clinton, in 2020 for his former Vice President Joe Biden and in 2024 for Harris. At this point, what more can he say that he hasn’t said already?
Those who’ve studied the 44th President know that he often rises from the ashes like a phoenix when things really call for him to intervene. Right now, so much of what Trump has done so far has amounted to threats and pledges to do damage – but the material impact has yet to be fully accounted for. Obama isn’t an impulsive responder or an alarmist when it comes to Trump – go look to members of Congress, activists, and advocacy organizations for such real-time responses.
Matter of fact, go to Clinton’s social media pages if you want more frequent reactions (and shade). Obama is a former president — he’s going to move differently and more strategically. It’s been less than three weeks, so he’s probably somewhere reflecting alongside Forever First Lady Michelle Obama.
Again, none of this is new for him – and quite frankly, it shouldn’t be for us either.
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Ernest Owens is an award-winning journalist and author of “The Case for Cancel Culture.” You can check him out at ernestowens.com.