Barack Obama Reemerges, Gives First Speech Since Presidency at University of Chicago
It’s been a grueling, and at times confusing 100 days for most of America after Barack Obama officially stepped out of office. General unhappiness and fear have replaced the sense of comfort that the 44th president brought to the country, yet he’s remained silent aside from the odd vacation picture. Not to say his time off was unwarranted, but it was a huge juxtaposition to the literal horror show that American politics have been in for the first months of Donald Trump’s presidency (still can’t believe we’re saying that).
Obama has finally reemerged, however, and this week he gave his first speech since he left office to the University of Chicago.
The former president was still as sharp as ever, dropping in his usual brand of dad jokes and engaging the audience with his specific brand of uplifting and inspiring commentary. He shied away from speaking on the issues that have befallen the country since he left, not wanting to take shots at Trumpâeven though he did bring up the immigration issue briefly. Other than the president doing his duty to enlighten the youth through telling them about his experiences, there are questions about what role (if any) he will play politically in galvanizing the still shell-shocked Democrats. He’s already being taken to task for reportedly taking money from Wall Street to give speeches, but his silence in regards to current events is telling if not a little worrying. We’ll just have to wait and see, but for nowâI think we’re all glad that Obama is back in the public eye.
