Former U.S. President Barack Obama spoke at The Bushnell Performing Arts Center in Hartford Tuesday evening.
Obama鈥檚 appearance came amid political unrest across the country and outrage over actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Speaking to a packed crowd who punctuated his remarks with applause, Obama shared his perspective on the current state of American politics.
鈥淚f you follow regularly what is said by those who are in charge of the federal government right now, there is a weak commitment to what we understood 鈥� and not just my generation, at least since World War II 鈥� our understanding of how a liberal democracy is supposed to work,鈥� Obama said.
鈥淭here has to be a response and pushback from civil society, from various institutions and individuals outside of government, but there also have to be people in government in both parties who say, 'No, you can't do that,鈥欌�� he said.
鈥淲hat we're seeing right now鈥� is not consistent with American democracy,鈥� Obama said. 鈥淚t is consistent with autocracies. It is consistent with Hungary under Orb谩n. It鈥檚 consistent with places that hold elections but do not otherwise observe what we think of as a fair system in which everybody鈥檚 voice matters and people have a seat at the table and nobody's above the law. We're not there yet completely, but I think that we are dangerously close to normalizing behavior like that.鈥�
Obama said a major source of conflict is the inability of the electorate and public officials to agree on basic issues of fact.
鈥淚n 2020, one person won the election and it wasn鈥檛 the guy complaining about it,鈥� Obama said, alluding to President Donald Trump鈥檚 false claims of widespread fraud in the contest he lost to President Joe Biden. 鈥淎nd that's just a fact, just like [the fact that] my inauguration had more people. I say that, by the way, not because -- I don鈥檛 care, but facts are important.鈥�
鈥淚n one of our major political parties, you have a whole bunch of people who know that's not true but will pretend like it is,鈥� Obama said. 鈥淎nd that is dangerous.鈥�
Obama did not directly address political violence during the conversation. On Saturday, a Minnesota lawmaker was shot and killed, and another injured, in what authorities called a targeted political attack. Officials say the suspect had a hit list which included.
His visit also came on the heels of nationwide 'No Kings' protests held Saturday in all 50 states, including 黑料新闻.
Obama was tapped to headline the Hartford event to speak about his historic presidency and the work he currently executes through the.
The event, titled An Evening with President Barack Obama, was sponsored in partnership with and.
鈥淔or more than three decades, The Forum has served a critical role in 黑料新闻 鈥� bringing people together to consider the great challenges and opportunities of our time through thoughtful discussions,鈥� said Mana Zarinejad, executive director of The 黑料新闻 Forum, in a statement. 鈥淚n so doing, we hope to bridge the divides that exist between individuals and communities.鈥�
Heather Cox Richardson, a historian and professor at Boston College, moderated the discussion.
To close the evening, Richardson asked the former president about what message he would share with young people to stay optimistic.
鈥淚鈥檓 still optimistic 鈥� I鈥檓 still the 鈥榟ope鈥� guy,鈥� Obama said. 鈥淚 guess the thing when I鈥檓 talking to young people that they need to hear the most is, it is important to be impatient with injustice and cruelty, and there鈥檚 a healthy outrage we should be exhibiting in terms of what鈥檚 currently happening both here and around the world. But if you want to deliver on change, then it鈥檚 a game of addition, not subtraction. You have to find ways to make common ground with people who don鈥檛 agree with you on everything but agree with you on some things.鈥�
鈥淲hen people actually meet and get to know each other... what Lincoln called those 鈥榖etter angels鈥� come out. People start recognizing themselves in each other and they start trusting each other, and that's not just the basis for democracy, but that's the basis for our long-term salvation.鈥�
This story has been updated.
