What is Barack Obama Doing Now? Ex-President Makes First Few Public Campaign Appearances After Leaving Office
Barack Obama is back on tour, as he made a series of one-day public campaign stops to rally the Democrats to renewed efforts. He also offered support to a couple of gubernatorial candidates along the way in his visits to Virginia and New Jersey.
The 44th U.S. president has avoided mentioning Donald Trump by name in both his visits in Virginia and New Jersey, in a bid to cheer up the heavy mood of Democrats, according to US News.
He would only refer to the current administration through veiled allusions, but there's little doubt that his message has much to do with the current state of affairs in the White House and in the country as a whole.
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"Folks don't feel good right now about what they see," he noted. "They don't feel as if our public life reflects our best. Instead of our politics reflecting our values, we've got politics infecting our communities," Obama said.
In the end, he lifted the atmosphere of the evening rally, held for the benefit of Virginia's Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ralph Northam, with a stirring revival of his old campaign slogan "Yes we can!"
He keeps his public appearances short, however, and even then they were only to "speak to our better values and ideals" as opposed to stances on issues, as an aide describes his current activities.
"He is acutely aware that when he consumes political oxygen, it can stifle the attention that should be on current and emerging leaders in the party," the aide added.
Barack Obama has shied away from public life in the early days of his post-presidency, spending time in activities to make up for all the years he spent cooped in the presidential seat.
He will always be a dominant public figure in the years to come, however, with Illinois even going as far as signing into law an official holiday commemorating Barack Obama, starting Aug. 4.
