Let’s just dig in. This meme was posted on Facebook over the weekend:
There’s a lot going on here. First, Obama is not an American “imposter.” Secondly, the claim that he is the “first ex president to publicly speak against a successor” is not accurate. Jimmy Carter has a penchant for speaking out against his successors. For instance, he said the George W. Bush administration was “the worst in history” due to what he saw “as the adverse impact on the nation around the world.” Carter also spoke out against Bill Clinton, criticizing his pardon of Marc Rich.
It is rare to see former presidents criticize their successors publicly. George W. Bush criticized certain foreign policy decisions made by Obama, but that was during a closed-door event. (Yet, it was still reported on.) The same goes for Dwight Eisenhower, who “chewed out his successor, John F. Kennedy, in private for the botched Bay of Pigs invasion, but publicly offered him a level of support” as CNN notes.
Also, Obama is also not the only former president to criticize Trump. In a speech last year, Bush 43 clearly criticized the current administration in his attack on nativism, protectionism, and “isolationist sentiments”:
We have seen the return of isolationist sentiments – forgetting that American security is directly threatened by the chaos and despair of distant places, where threats such as terrorism, infectious disease, criminal gangs and drug trafficking tend to emerge.
It is inaccurate to suggest that Obama is the first former president to “speak against a successor.”
P.S.: Beyond asking them to stop spreading false information, TWS Fact Check implores Fedup Americans to pick one font and color.
If you have questions about this fact check, or would like to submit a request for another fact check, email Holmes Lybrand at [email protected] or the Weekly Standard at [email protected]. For details on TWS Fact Check, see our explainer here.
