Following a weekend of mass demonstrations at U.S. airports over Trump’s Muslim ban, President Obama released a statement in which he said he was “… heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country.”
The statement, issued under the name of Obama’s spokesman Kevin Lewis, was the first comment Obama has made since Donald Trump became president nine days ago.
President Obama is heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country. In his final official speech as President, he spoke about the important role of citizens and how all Americans have a responsibility to be the guardians of our democracy — not just during an election but every day.
Citizens exercising their Constitutional right to assemble, organize and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake.
With regard to comparisons to President Obama’s foreign policy decisions, as we’ve heard before, the President fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith.
Hillary Clinton also commented on the ban tweeting, “I stand with the people gathered across the country tonight defending our values & Constitution. This is not who we are.”
