President Obama on Thursday blamed the election-year anger at Washington that led to the rise of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders not to the current state of government, but to lingering anxiety over the 2008 recession.
“Here’s what is true: Despite all the progress we’ve made, despite the fact the country is indisputably, demonstrably better off than when I took office in just about every measure, what is true is that people are anxious,” he said. “People remember what happened in 2007 and 2008, and they think, ‘Well, if my home values could drop that fast, my pensions could shrink that drastically, then maybe I’m not as secure as I thought I was, and I can’t trust, not only the institutions of the private sector, but also government, to look out for me.’ And that makes people concerned.”
When it comes to the striking momentum of Sanders, a Democratic socialist who bested Hillary Clinton by more than 20 percentage points in the New Hampshire primary, Obama acknowledged that the virulent anti-establishment mood has its origins in the nation’s campaign finance system and the power special interests wield in Washington.
“People are deeply concerned about inequality in the sense that the system is rigged against ordinary folks … and they’re not wrong,” he said. “Big money and unaccountable, undisclosed money is distorting out politics in ways are going to be damaging over the long-term.”
Obama also warned that more “strange things” may be in store when people are this upset about government and who is calling the shots in D.C.
“That disquiet, that concern is expressing itself in the Republican Party as well as the Democratic Party, and we need to listen to that, and we have to pay attention, and be mindful, because when people are scared, then strange things can happen in politics,” he said. “When people are nervous and feel threatened, we can get a politics that is not about bringing people together, but is about us and them.”
