Everything President Trump's Been Accused of That Obama Did Without All the Media Hysteria
The
national media have been spinning the actions of the Trump
administration as a grave threat to security, violations of human
rights, and even worse.
This is neither to argue for or against those beliefs, but merely to point out that the same media clamoring the alarms were remarkably restrained when it came to the same or highly similar actions undertaken by the previous, Obama administration.
While it is impossible to list “everything” the Trump administration has been accused of that the Obama White House also did (even the great librarian Eratosthenes of Alexandria would pale at compiling such a list), the following suffices as the predominant examples of hypocrisy, only one month into the Trump presidency:
“Even as we are a nation of immigrants, we’re also a nation of laws. Undocumented workers broke our immigration laws, and I believe that they must be held accountable, especially those who may be dangerous,” Obama said in a 2014 speech.
Incidentally, President Trump said that he is open to granting legal status for some illegal immigrants, although his proposal would stop short of full citizenship.
The Trump administration's deportation of criminal aliens has been decried
by much of the press. One AP report even sounded the alarms that the
president was even authorizing border patrol agents to round up 100,000
illegal immigrants and deport them, which proved to be false.
Former President Obama was responsible for more “deportations” than any other president in American history; Although Snopes rightfully points out that the definition of “deportation” may be misleading, because it doesn't refer to the actual number of different immigrants deported out of the country.
The Trump travel ban
of immigrants and refugees from seven different Muslim-majority
nations, recently revised to eliminate Iraq from the list, has drawn
widespread media and activist condemnation. While the Obama
administration never banned travel outright, it did slow the processing of immigrants from Iraq to a considerable extent after a threat to the Bowling Green, Kentucky, community in 2011.
The Trump administration has come under fire
for Attorney General Jeff Sessions failing to disclose his two meetings
with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, though there is no evidence
that the Trump campaign was discussed. There have been demands from top Democrats for Sessions to resign.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder arguably lied under oath about not signing an order that targeted Fox News reporter James Rosen — among other things. Even though there were calls for Holder to resign, he left office of his own volition.
While President Trump is notorious for having uttered many phrases in extremely poor taste, and exhibiting unpresidential decorum, there are blinders on about the former president's own partisan and divisive rhetoric.
“We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick,” Obama said after a Gulf oil spill.
“No, no, no. Don't boo. Vote,” Obama said before the 2012 election. “Voting is the best revenge.”
“I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors. I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face,” he also said.
“If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun," Obama also said.
Presidential? You decide.
What is less remarked upon is President Obama's verbal animosity for Fox News and conservative talk radio hosts, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.
President Trump fanned the flames of controversy by barring several outlets from a press gaggle, including CNN, Buzzfeed, The Hill, BBC, Politico, and others. In 2008, however, President Obama kicked three reporters from newspapers that endorsed rival presidential candidate John McCain off his plane.
While there was initially a flurry of concern over President Trump's use of executive orders shortly after entering office, the new president is roughly at the same pace as former president Obama. In fact, Obama used his “pen and phone” to sign more executive orders in his first twelve days than Trump.
Liberal law professor Jonathan Turley even testified before Congress that former President Obama's abuse of executive power is “the very danger The Constitution was designed to avoid.” Those who question President Trump's use of executive authority would do well to recall these warnings, which largely passed unnoticed in the mainstream press.
President Trump has taken flak for selecting partisan nominees, such as Jeff Sessions for Attorney General, Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education, and Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State. The Washington Post has called this picks “radically unorthodox.”
Obama's Cabinet nominees, on the other hand, did not cause nearly the commotion in the press as a whole. Eric Holder had a radical background that included stating at one point that Americans needed to be “brainwashed” into thinking differently about guns. He was also an activist at Columbia University and later refused to prosecute members of the New Black Panther Party for a clear case of voter intimidation in 2008.
Cass Sunstein, as the “regulatory czar” who became famous for his advocacy of “nudging” Americans into making restrictive choice, while maintaining the illusion of freedom; John Holdren, who nonchalantly discussed mass sterilization and “compulsory abortion” in a co-authored essay in Ecoscience; and “Safe Schools czar” Ken Jennings, who advocated for the discussion of extreme sexual practices in schools are but a few of Obama's controversial Cabinet selections. Lest we forget.
While much of the press is in a tailspin questioning President Trump
over his unfounded allegation that Obama “wiretapped” his Trump Tower
campaign headquarters, it goes beyond the obvious irony
that the same media is furiously attempting to establish ties between
the Trump administration and Russia that intelligence officials say are simply not there.
The Obama administration also accused Russia of hacking the election with the express aim of getting Donald Trump elected. Not only is there a lack of publicly verifiable “smoking gun” proof that the Kremlin ordered the hacks, it is not certain if the Russians were trying to get Trump elected, damage Hillary Clinton should she become president, or merely to undermine confidence in the democratic process. (This is not to say Russia did not intervene in the U.S. election; it most certainly did.)
President Trump has blamed his predecessor for a number of things: obstructing his transition, releasing Gitmo prisoners, and even botching the Yemeni raid early in his presidency.
Obama became famous in some media circles early on in his presidency for “blaming Bush” for the economic difficulties inherited from the former administration. The former president also blamed Bush for the Fast & Furious gunrunning scandal, the VA scandal, the GSA scandal, among other things.
This isn't to dismiss the concerns of citizens and media about the Trump presidency, or any aspect of government, but merely to make a reminder that journalists should be careful about overly sounding the political alarms. One of these days, they might need the American people to believe them.
This is neither to argue for or against those beliefs, but merely to point out that the same media clamoring the alarms were remarkably restrained when it came to the same or highly similar actions undertaken by the previous, Obama administration.
While it is impossible to list “everything” the Trump administration has been accused of that the Obama White House also did (even the great librarian Eratosthenes of Alexandria would pale at compiling such a list), the following suffices as the predominant examples of hypocrisy, only one month into the Trump presidency:
1. Speaking Out Against Illegal Immigration
While Trump has famously been opposed to illegal immigration, lesser known is that both former President Obama (and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton) spoke out against the practice.
“Even as we are a nation of immigrants, we’re also a nation of laws. Undocumented workers broke our immigration laws, and I believe that they must be held accountable, especially those who may be dangerous,” Obama said in a 2014 speech.
Incidentally, President Trump said that he is open to granting legal status for some illegal immigrants, although his proposal would stop short of full citizenship.
2. Deporting Illegal Immigrants
Getty Images/Spencer Platt
Former President Obama was responsible for more “deportations” than any other president in American history; Although Snopes rightfully points out that the definition of “deportation” may be misleading, because it doesn't refer to the actual number of different immigrants deported out of the country.
3. Restricting Immigration
Getty Images/David McNew
4. Having an Attorney General Who Refused to Resign
Getty Images/Brendan Smialowski
Former Attorney General Eric Holder arguably lied under oath about not signing an order that targeted Fox News reporter James Rosen — among other things. Even though there were calls for Holder to resign, he left office of his own volition.
5. Making Partisan and Divisive Statements
Getty Images/Alex Wong
“We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick,” Obama said after a Gulf oil spill.
“No, no, no. Don't boo. Vote,” Obama said before the 2012 election. “Voting is the best revenge.”
“I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors. I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face,” he also said.
“If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun," Obama also said.
Presidential? You decide.
6. Singling out Opposition in Press
The Trump administration made waves for calling the “fake news” media the “enemy of the people.” He has even gone so far as to single out CNN as “very fake news” during a very animated press conference.What is less remarked upon is President Obama's verbal animosity for Fox News and conservative talk radio hosts, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.
7. Barring Reporters from Press Access
Getty Images/Saul Loeb
8. Overusing Executive Orders
Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
Liberal law professor Jonathan Turley even testified before Congress that former President Obama's abuse of executive power is “the very danger The Constitution was designed to avoid.” Those who question President Trump's use of executive authority would do well to recall these warnings, which largely passed unnoticed in the mainstream press.
9. Picking Partisan Cabinet Nominees
Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
Obama's Cabinet nominees, on the other hand, did not cause nearly the commotion in the press as a whole. Eric Holder had a radical background that included stating at one point that Americans needed to be “brainwashed” into thinking differently about guns. He was also an activist at Columbia University and later refused to prosecute members of the New Black Panther Party for a clear case of voter intimidation in 2008.
Cass Sunstein, as the “regulatory czar” who became famous for his advocacy of “nudging” Americans into making restrictive choice, while maintaining the illusion of freedom; John Holdren, who nonchalantly discussed mass sterilization and “compulsory abortion” in a co-authored essay in Ecoscience; and “Safe Schools czar” Ken Jennings, who advocated for the discussion of extreme sexual practices in schools are but a few of Obama's controversial Cabinet selections. Lest we forget.
10. Making Unproven Accusations
Getty Images/AFP/Jim Watson
The Obama administration also accused Russia of hacking the election with the express aim of getting Donald Trump elected. Not only is there a lack of publicly verifiable “smoking gun” proof that the Kremlin ordered the hacks, it is not certain if the Russians were trying to get Trump elected, damage Hillary Clinton should she become president, or merely to undermine confidence in the democratic process. (This is not to say Russia did not intervene in the U.S. election; it most certainly did.)
11. Blaming Previous Presidents
Getty Images/Kevin Dietsch-Pool
Obama became famous in some media circles early on in his presidency for “blaming Bush” for the economic difficulties inherited from the former administration. The former president also blamed Bush for the Fast & Furious gunrunning scandal, the VA scandal, the GSA scandal, among other things.
This isn't to dismiss the concerns of citizens and media about the Trump presidency, or any aspect of government, but merely to make a reminder that journalists should be careful about overly sounding the political alarms. One of these days, they might need the American people to believe them.
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