‘Inherently Corrupting!’ Obama Condemns Trump Sending National Guard to Chicago, Says POTUS Has ‘Damaged’ Democracy

AP Photo/John Minchillo

Former President Barack Obama slammed President Donald Trump for sending the National Guard to Chicago to crack down on crime, saying it is “inherently corrupting” for a president to use the military “against their own people.”

Obama voiced his displeasure with Trump on the final episode of Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, which released on Monday. The ex-president added he believed Trump has “weakened” democracy during the first year of his second term.

“When you have military that can direct force against their own people, that is inherently corrupting. And so when you now start seeing the politicization of the military — deliberately, right—” Obama said.

“They just landed in Chicago!” Maron jumped in to add.

Obama continued denouncing Trump right after.

“When you have what looks like a deliberate end run around not just a concept but a law that’s been around for a long time, Posse Comitatus, that says you don’t use our military on domestic soil unless there is an extraordinary emergency of some sort; that when you see an administration suggest that ordinary street crime is an insurrection or—” Obama said.

“A terrorist attack,” Maron chimed in.

“A terrorist attack,” Obama continued, “That is a genuine effort to weaken how we have understood democracy.”

Obama’s comments come after President Trump sent 200 National Guard troops from Texas to Chicago last week.

President Trump has said he wants to reduce crime in The Windy City because he was disgusted by news reports about how many people were shot over Labor Day Weekend.

“When I watch television last night, and I’m watching the news and I see that nine people were killed in Chicago and 54 were badly wounded with bullets, I say, ‘That’s not our country. We have to do something,’” Trump said in early September.

ABC 7 in Chicago reported 58 people were shot in the city over the holiday weekend, which was an 87% surge from the same time the year before.

The president’s push to use National Guard troops in Chicago, as well as ICE and Border Patrol agents to deport illegal immigrants, has been met with resistance from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D); both Democratic politicians sued Trump last week to stop him from deploying National Guard members.

Obama on Monday added it was “mind boggling” to imagine how Fox News would have reacted if he had used the National Guard like Trump has. He also said the president has severely hurt the nation since returning to the White House in January.

“I think there is no doubt that a lot of the norms, civic habits, expectations, [and] institutional guardrails that we had — that we took for granted — for our democracy have been weakened deliberately,” Obama said. “I don’t think they’re destroyed, but I think they have been damaged, and [the Trump Administration has] been systematic about it.”

You can listen to the full episode of WTF on Spotify by clicking here or on Apple Podcasts by clicking here. The comments referenced above are made around the 47:00 minute mark.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!