On BBC Radio 4’s “Today” programme, former US President Barack Obama has appeared to give a rare post-Presidency interview with recently engaged royalty Prince Harry in order to discuss life after leaving the Oval Office and what he thinks of the world in its present situation. The interview was actually recorded in Toronto way back in September, while the Invictus Games were taking place, and it was kept under wraps for three months.
Obama said that the goal of world leaders should be to break down society’s divisions and unify everybody and not to crumble and destroy civil discourse.
The ex-President did not name his successor Donald Trump by name, but we all know who he’s talking about. We especially know who he’s talking about when he mentions the dangers of politicians using social media, saying that it can lead to facts getting thrown out the window and bigoted intolerances being spread.
Obama reflected on the ‘serenity’ of leaving office
When Harry asked Obama what it was like to leave the Oval Office and hand over the reins of the United States of America to someone else, he described the “serenity” that he felt on that day – “more than I would have expected,” he added. The ex-POTUS was left with mixed feelings of accomplishment crossed with a sense of dread about “all the work that was left undone.” The metaphor he used for the passing on of Presidency to Presidency was that of a relay race, with each successive leader passing on the baton to the next one, and Obama described his leg of it as “a good race.”
Obama described life since then as going in slow motion, because life as a world leader with all the appointments and addresses and summits and jetting from country to country moves in fast motion, and over eight years and two Presidential terms, he got used to that.
However, Obama did say that when he gets to “spend an extra forty-five minutes talking to Michelle or having a long breakfast,” this slower rate of life seems like a good thing.
This was Obama’s first interview since he left office in the earliest days of this year, but he did not use this public platform to hit back at Trump, who has spent the last twelve months attacking Obama personally and professionally, pretty much insulting his judgment at every turn.
That’s not Obama’s style. He follows his wife Michelle’s credo: “When they go low, you go high.” He’ll let history do the talking, anyway. In a hundred years, Trump will be remembered as the worst President in the history of America, so Obama will have his revenge then.
Obama’s greatest achievement? Obamacare
Obama told Harry that he considers his reformation of the US healthcare system – which has been dubbed Obamacare – to be the greatest achievement of his Presidency, as it brought insurance to a grand total of 20 million people.
Since he left the White House, Obama has been using social media platforms to urge the American people to seize the offer of extended insurance coverage.
Apparently Obama and Harry share an “obsession” with encouraging and helping along the next generation of civic leaders across the globe. This is the central basis of the Obama foundation, which is right at the heart of all the work that the ex-President has been doing since he left office. He called the current generation the “most sophisticated,” “most tolerant,” “most embracing of diversity,” “most tech savvy,” and “most entrepreneurial,” but added that they have little “faith in existing institutions.” However, Obama also mentioned his fears that the people with a “bias” for the political power structure as it is are holding back the current generation, which he says is bursting with energy and ambition.
