President Obama warned college students in Florida Thursday that the presidential election isn’t a reality TV show just because Donald Trump is running, and said the result will have a real impact on their future.
Obama argued at Florida International University that the media has become “so reality TV-ized … that it’s become normal if somebody says wacky stuff. As long as they’re famous, we think it’s OK.”
Even though some Trump supporters have tried to explain his lewd comments about women away as “locker-room talk,” Obama said they can’t justify his comments.
“This isn’t a joke, this isn’t ‘Survivor,’ this isn’t ‘The Bachelorette,'” he said. “This counts.”
“I won’t opine on his brain…,” Obama said, referencing Trump. “But anybody who suggests that America [should] torture people or ban entire religions from American or insults POWs or insults a Gold Star mom, that’s not somebody who should be president.”
Obama spinkled in other references to TV shows in his campaign speech, including “Saturday Night Live.”
“Anybody who’s upset about a ‘Saturday Night Live’ skit … [and tweets that] they should cancel ‘SNL’ … really? That’s the thing that bothers you and you want to be president of the United States?” he asked. “C’mon, man.”
“Make no mistake about it — all the progress that we’ve made goes out the window if we don’t win this election,” Obama told the crowd. “So we’ve got to work like our future depends on it because it actually depends on it.”
Several times during his 46-minute speech, he hit on issues that have broader appeal among young people, such as gay rights, criminal justice reform, and equal pay for women. He also tried to contrast Trump’s positions on putting a stop to illegal immigration by expressing the need to lift up all Americans, regardless of race and national origin.
“Across these 50 states when I’ve traveled, what I’ve seen, what really makes America great [is] the American people,” he said. “People of every party and every faith, people who know we’re stronger together…old folks, men and women, black and Latinos and Asians, folks with disabilities, gay and straight folks – all of us pledging allegiance to the red, white and blue.”
“That’s the America I know and that’s the America I love… and there’s only one candidate in this race who has devoted her whole life to building that up… Hillary Clinton,” he said.
He urged younger people to try to resurrect that groundswell of enthusiasm that propelled him to the presidency, arguing that this year is a rare moment in history where they can really make a difference in the future path of the country.
“All of you are uniquely qualified to make sure this uniquely unqualified person doesn’t become president,” Obama said.
“I’m asking you to believe, not in my ability to change things, not in Hillary’s ability to change things – I’m asking you to believe in your ability to change things,” he said.
While he acknowledged that he’s not on the ballot this year, he said, “fairness is on the ballot, justice is on the ballot, decency is on the ballot…immigration, equal pay for equal work is on the ballot, and democracy is on the ballot.” He concluded the speech by urging young people to encourage their friends and families to get to the polls by telling them that “this is where America makes a stand.”
“This is a moment we choose hope,” he said repeating the “choose hope” mantra from his 2008 campaign several times. “And if you do, we’ll elect Hillary Clinton president, we’ll finish what we started…we will show the world why America is the greatest nation on earth.”
