Former President Obama on Stand-Up Comedian Marc Maron's latest podcast said Monday that the Trump administration's policies are a “test” of whether universities, businesses, law firms and voters, including Republicans, can take a stand in support of the nation's founding principles and values.
“If you decide not to vote, that's the consequence. If you're Hispanic and you're frustrated with inflation, and so you decide, oh, you know what, all this rhetoric about Trump doesn't matter. “I'm just crazy about inflation,” Obama said. “And now your sons are being stopped in Los Angeles because they look Hispanic and maybe not being able to anyone call, they might just be locked up, well, it’s a test.”
In more than hour-long discussion With Maron on the wildly popular film “WTF With Marc Maron” In the podcast, the former Democratic president said current events could shake up Americans.
“It would be great if we weren't tested like that, but you know what? We probably need to be shaken out of our complacency,” he said.
Obama also criticized statements made by some Democrats, touching on important issues facing Californians and discussing the state of the nation's democracy, core beliefs and weakening institutional norms.
After Los Angeles' Maron joked, “We've driven the average American to fascism,” Obama responded, “You can't just swear all the time.
“You can't lecture people all the time without recognizing that you too have blind spots and that life is messy,” Obama said in an interview recently at the former president's office in Washington, D.C.
Accusing some liberals of being “holier than thou,” Obama said Democrats can remain true to their principles while respecting those with whom they disagree.
“Saying, ‘Okay, I have some core beliefs. [and] the belief that I am not going to compromise. But I'm also not going to say that I'm so righteous and so pure and so insightful that there's no possibility that maybe I'm wrong about this or that, or that other people, if they don't say things exactly the way I say them or see things exactly the way I do, then they're in some way bad people,” he said.
Obama's remarks come as the Democratic Party faces a reckoning with its loss in the 2024 presidential election, in part due to declining support from the party's base, especially minority voters.
Maron, a comedian and actor, launched his podcast and radio show, WTF With Marc Maron, in 2009. Interviews with guests such as actor Robin Williams, comedian Louis C.K., director Kevin Smith and Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels often took place at his Highland Park home.
Obama's 2015 interview in Maron's garage became the podcast's most popular episode to date, with nearly 740,000 downloads in the first 24 hours of its publication.
On Monday, the former president criticized institutions for capitulating to President Trump's demands. His words were heard during the debate of USC leaders is it worth agreeing to the White House's offer to get favorable access to federal funding if it fits Trump's agenda.
“If you're the president of a university, let's say, well, you know what? It would hurt if we lost some of the grant money to the federal government, but that's what donations are for,” Obama said. “Let's see if we can survive this, because we're not going to compromise our basic academic independence.”
