Former President Barack Obama, in an address Thursday in Berlin, discussed the importance of humanitarian aid, saying “We can’t hide behind a wall.”
“In this new world we live in, we can’t isolate ourselves,” Obama said.
Obama made the comments in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin at an event marking the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.
The former president was joined on stage by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Obama also spoke to the rise of nationalism and xenophobia and said, “We have to push back against those trends that would violate human rights or suppress democracy or restrict individual freedoms.”
The former president’s comments came as President Trump, on his first foreign trip, met with leaders of the European Council and newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron in Brussels. Trump made building a wall along the southern border with Mexico one of his top campaign pledges, and the budget request released on Tuesday included funding toward that effort.
While in Brussels, Trump is attending his first NATO leaders summit.
