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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBarack Obama Is 'Very Concerned' About Country, Will Get Involved in 2020 Campaign
A former senior adviser to President Barack Obama has said that the president is deeply concerned about the direction of the U.S., and that the two-term president plans to be involved in Democratic efforts to defeat President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
Valerie Jarrett, who worked for Obama from 2008 until 2017, told the BBC that her former boss is "very concerned about the direction our country is going."
Obama spoke out against the Republican Party and Trumpwho he described as "a symptom, not the cause" of radical right-wing politicsduring last year's midterm elections. Jarrett told interviewer Stephen Sackur "my expectation is that he would do the same in the general election."
Jarrett also discussed the current field of Democratic candidates, who face their first on-stage debate next week. But despite her years working alongside former Vice President Joe Biden, Jarrett would not be drawn on which candidate will offer Democrats the best chance to retake the White House in 2020.
"I think all of us good Democrats need to get behind whoever is the nominee and ensure that that person wins the election," she said. "I have counseled several of the candidates to not beat up so much on their opponents, that whoever emerges as the nominee goes into the general election in a weakened state."
Though she would not pick a front-runner, Jarrett said she was pleased with the quality on show in the 23-person field. "I think we have an embarrassment of riches," Jarrett explained. "I think we have some terrific candidates and it's still very early so we'll see what happens."
https://www.newsweek.com/barack-obama-very-concerned-2020-election-donald-trump-democratic-party-valerie-jarrett-1444717
renate
(13,776 posts)I couldn't agree more. I wish everybody wasn't ganging up on Biden.
He's a genuinely good guy at heart, despite being gaffe-prone, though I'll admit he's not my first choice for our nominee. He made mistakes as a senator but he had a great eight years as Obama's VP. It would be such a mistake for all the other Democratic candidates to run against Biden in the primaries rather than for health care/jobs/income equality/etc. We're all on the same side. And we'll pick a good nominee eventually... no point in making it ugly along the way.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)to President Obama helping more people understand the enormity of what's at stake. Nothing like fear of and danger from an outside threat to help people focus and pull together to fight it.
BootinUp
(48,344 posts)Phoenix61
(17,347 posts)We need all the help we can get. He is very good at getting people fired up and cited about voting.