Mitch McConnell's deeply disingenuous call for Barack Obama to keep 'his mouth shut' [View all]

[babylonsister]

Last edited Tue May 12, 2020, 04:20 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/12/politics/mitch-mcconnell-donald-trump-barack-obama/index.html

Mitch McConnell's deeply disingenuous call for Barack Obama to keep 'his mouth shut'
Chris Cillizza
Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large
Updated 12:14 PM ET, Tue May 12, 2020

snip//

Look. There's a bunch of problems with what McConnell is saying. Let's go through them.

First -- and most importantly -- since we are on the topic of political traditions, it's long been a tradition that the current president doesn't personally attack the person who came before him.

snip//

Second, Obama made these comments -- he said the Trump response to the pandemic was "an absolute chaotic disaster" -- not in public but on a private call with former members of his staff and administration.
Yes, of course, Obama was aware his comments might leak. But it's an important distinction nonetheless. As a former president, he could have very easily sat for an interview with any network he wanted to offer a stinging critique of how Trump is handling the coronavirus crisis. Hell, he could have also addressed the fact that the current president is accusing him of organizing an illegal coup! Obama didn't do any of that. He gave his candid views about Trump's handling of coronavirus -- a view more or less shared by a majority of Americans in the new CNN poll, by the way -- to friends and staff.

Third, McConnell, who has been around politics for a very long time, should know better than to tell the first black president to keep his mouth shut. Even if McConnell meant nothing by it, it's not a good look.

Taken broadly, what McConnell is doing here is what Trump and his party have been doing for the last three-plus years: Shattering every possible presidential norm with glee while also demanding that political opponents adhere to those same norms. I've lost count at the number of times Trump expresses faux shock at the language used by one of his rivals even as he curses and impugns them without a second thought. Or demands that someone be fired for making a mistake or airing an incorrect claim even as he has racked up literally thousands of misstatements and falsehoods during his time in office.

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https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/12/politics/mitch-mcconnell-donald-trump-barack-obama/index.html