Former President Barack Obama was heckled by a pro-Palestinian audience member during a recent long-form conversation, telling the individual that he cannot affect foreign policy due to no longer being in office.
Why It Matters
Obama has been consistent in commenting on domestic and foreign affairs since he left office in 2016, most recently discussing the murder of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk and the Trump administration’s crackdown on “hate speech,” which the ex-president said is Republicans’ new method of cancel culture.
The war in Gaza between Israel and Palestine continues to cause global tensions and provoke further questions about diplomacy and the roles of world powers in the conflict. Earlier this week, the United Nations’ Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which includes east Jerusalem, said in a report that “the State of Israel bears responsibility for the failure to prevent genocide, the commission of genocide and the failure to punish genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
What To Know
Obama spoke with broadcast journalist Steve Scully at the Jefferson Educational Society on September 16 in Erie, Pennsylvania, in the wake of the assassination of Kirk.
A video stemming from the interview shows Obama responding directly to a heckler heard shouting pro-Palestine slogans off-camera.
“Sir, I’m not the President of the United States, currently. So, there’s no point in shouting at me. There’s no point in shouting at me about it. I’m not in charge of foreign policy, currently,” Obama said in the video, which has garnered more than 3 million views on the platform X.
Obama went to discuss the conflict overseas, saying conversations regarding political violence and free speech are connected to the situation in the Middle East.
“Part of what you see in the Middle East is the consequences of a mindset that some people are worth more than others, that we’re each part of a tribe, and that it’s a zero-sum game, and that my tribe is better than your tribe,” Obama said. “That mindset at some point, if you look at history—results in conflict. Terrible things are done on behalf of that idea.
“And so, those who carried out October 7 had something in their minds that said, these families, these women and children that we are going to slaughter in cold blood, are less than us. We are justified in perpetrating that kind of brutality. And those who are now saying we’re going to withhold food and medicine and shelter from millions of people as a consequence of those awful events, that also is dehumanizing the people in Gaza who are suffering right now.”
He brought his point home by linking his thoughts on Gaza back to the United States.
“I want to be clear—I’m not drawing equivalences, because this is part of how our debates get bogged down,” the 44th president said. “What I’m saying is that when we don’t see people as people, bad things happen. When we dehumanize people, bad things happen. And America at our best, stands for the idea that everybody counts and everybody’s equal under the law and has an inherent dignity and respect.
“And that idea, when we lose that idea here—the whole world gets dimmer. And we’re seeing it right now. Autocrats feel like, oh, we’ve got a license now, because America, they seem to be okay with it. In fact, they’re kind of doing some of the same things we’re doing.”
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump on Truth Social on Wednesday: “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT.”
Former President Barack Obama on X on Thursday: “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.”
What Happens Next
The conversation surrounding Kirk’s murder, political violence and the broadness of free speech remains ongoing as lawmakers, government officials, the media and general citizens continue to discuss last week’s events and the future effects.