+
upworthy
Democracy

President Obama has a message for President Trump. He won't listen, but we should.

President Obama has a message for President Trump. He won't listen, but we should.

We're on day eleventy billion of Donald Trump creating his own alternate reality and convincing millions of people to live there with him, only now it's clearer than ever that it can't continue. President Trump, perhaps for the first time in his life, is hitting a wall he can't con or buy his way through. He lost the 2020 election. His own cybersecurity and election security agencies have said the election was fair and free from widespread fraud. His court cases are being dismissed or dropped left and right. Yet he refuses to acknowledge objective reality, insisting that Democrats cheated (without evidence), insisting he won the election (which he didn't), insisting two plus two doesn't equal four (which his loyal base would believe if he said it).

Trump's reaction to losing the election is a combination of disturbing, sad, predictable, and dangerous. At this point, we can't just brush it off as "Trump being Trump." Trump is president of the United States. His words matter. His tweets matter. His behavior matters. A sitting president delegitimizing the foundation of our democracy matters. It all matters.

Former president Barack Obama has some advice for President Trump, elicited by a question asked of him in a 60 Minutes interview this weekend. Trump will definitely not heed it, but the rest of us should hear it to remind us of what it means to lead this country. When asked, "What is your advice, in this moment, for President Trump?" Obama reminded us of what a president is and what his or her responsibility boils down to.


"A president is a public servant," he said. "They are temporary occupants of the office, by design. And when your time is up, then it is your job to put the country first and think beyond your own ego and your own interests and your own disappointments. My advice to President Trump is if you want, at this late stage in the game, to be remembered as somebody who put country first, it's time for you to do the same thing."

When asked if it was his view that it was time for Trump to concede, Obama replied, "Absolutely. I think it was time for him to concede the day after the election, or at the latest two days after the election. When you look at the numbers objectively, Joe Biden will have won handily. There is no scenario in which any of those states would turn the other way, and certainly not enough to reverse the outcome of the election."

First of all, let's just take a moment to acknowledge the full, coherent sentences. Never thought that's something we'd need to point out, but here we are. Next, let's appreciate how Obama took the high road here to remind us of our collective relationship with the office of the presidency. He could have called Trump a big ol' diaper baby who is behaving more like a toddler in need of a nap than a president. But that's not Obama's style. Instead, he reminded us that office is bigger than any one person. The person in the office is there to serve us, and when the people have spoken, their job is to abide by the will of the majority.

Here in objective reality, there's no question that Trump lost the election. He's tried to take his fraud claims to court, purportedly to make sure we had a free and fair election, and that's fine. But without evidence—actual evidence, not conspiracy theories about voting machine companies or complaints about the normal process—those lawsuits aren't going anywhere.

Unfortunately, far too many Republican leaders are going along with Trump's delusions, which is really something to witness. Trump's reaction was 100% predictable, and at this point the sycophancy perhaps should be as well, but it's still incredibly disturbing. Not only is it just dumb, it's dangerous to our democracy. The safety and stability of our nation depend on a peaceful transfer of power. There's a process in place for that, and Trump is impeding it.

Some Republicans have begun speaking out as the truth becomes more and more obvious. But the longer they wait, the more ingrained the misinformation becomes in the minds of Trump's base.

It is vital that we state clearly and unequivocally that this is not normal. The president is undermining a free and fair election, period. He's putting American security at risk, period. He's tearing at the fabric of America with his narcissistic delusions of grandeur and inability to admit defeat like a mature adult. And the worst part is that he's convincing millions of Americans to do the same thing.

Enough is enough. The president is a public servant and the public—as in every presidential election prior to this one—has made their choice at the ballot box. It's time to end this embarrassing display right now before more irreparable damage is done.




The gaze of the approving Boomer.

Over the past few years, Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) have been getting a lot of grief from the generations that came after them, Gen X (1965 to 1980), Millenials (1981 to 1996), and now, Gen Z (1997 to 2012). Their grievances include environmental destruction, wealth hoarding, political polarization, and being judgemental when they don’t understand how hard it is for younger people to make it in America these days.

Every Baby Boomer is different, so it's wrong to paint them all with a broad brush. But it’s undeniable that each generation shares common values, and some are bound to come into conflict.

However, life in 2023 isn’t without its annoyances. Many that came about after the technological revolution put a phone in everyone’s hands and brought a whole new host of problems. Add the younger generations' hands-on approach to child rearing and penchant for outrage, and a lot of moden life has become insufferanble.

Keep ReadingShow less

Taylor Swift at 2022 Toronto International Film Festival Red Carpet Day 2.

The wordsmiths over at Merriam-Webster have announced their official “Word of the Year for 2023,” they say it’s something we are “thinking about, writing about, aspiring to, and judging more” than ever.

The word is authentic.

According to the dictionary, the most common definitions of authentic are “not false or imitation,” “being true to one's own personality, spirit, or character,” and “worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact.”

Merriam-Webster says the word saw a “substantial increase” in lookups this year. That’s probably because we now live in a world where artificial intelligence, deepfake technology and questionable memes challenge our basic notions of reality.

Keep ReadingShow less

Prepare to get Thatcherized.

It seems that Adele is going viral once again.

Perhaps you’ve seen the image in question previously (it seems to make the rounds every couple of years). But in case you missed it—it’s Adele’s face. Normal, just upside down.

Only it’s not normal. In fact, when you turn Adele’s face right side up, what you notice is that her eyes and mouth were actually right-side up THE ENTIRE TIME, even though the entire head was upside down. So when you turn the head right side up, the eyes and mouth are now UPSIDE-DOWN—and you can’t unsee it. Do you feel like you're Alice in Wonderland yet?

Keep ReadingShow less
Humor

Iliza Schlesinger's hilarious rant just might unite Gen Zers and millennials

The 40-year-old comedian begs for the younger generation to cut millennials some slack.

@ilizas/TikTok

Comedian iliza Schlesinger urges Gen Z to be nicer to millennials.

Generational differences have long been the bread and butter of TikTok humor, but lately, millennials have been a prime target for their younger Gen Z counterparts.

Clips of Gen Zers mocking stereotypical millennial behavior, otherwise known as “millennial core” is particularly popular—everything from a millennial’s affinity for skinny jeans and self-deprecating humor to their love of the word “adulting” is current fodder for ridicule.

Things have gotten so heated that millennials have, as the kids say, begun serving clapbacks—accusing Gen Zers of acting superior, nihilistic and completely disconnected due to their over-reliance on social media.

But earlier this month, comedian and self-described “elder millennial” Iliza Schlesinger went viral for her rallying cry for both generations to unite. It’s a delightful blend of unhinged and insightful that Schlesinger has truly mastered.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

New England mall's ingenious ‘Santa elevator' is a child’s Christmas fantasy come true

Natick Mall takes Santa visits to a whole other level with its magical "elevator" to the North Pole.

Visiting Santa at the Natick Mall is an otherworldly experience.

Visiting Santa Claus at the mall is a holiday tradition for countless American families, and it's usually a similar setup no matter where you go. You find the big display with the big Christmas decor, step into a long line of parents and kids ranging from giddy to terrified, wait for Santa's helper dressed in an elf costume to say it's your turn, then take pics of your kid telling a stranger in a Santa suit what they want for Christmas in an effort to give your kids a taste of holiday wonder.

But one mall in Massachusetts has upped the mall Santa bar so far it's above the clouds—literally.

The Natick Mall's "Magic Elevator Express" takes visiting Santa to a whole other magical level that even the Grinchiest of grownups can appreciate. And the idea is so brilliantly simple, it could be replicated just about anywhere.

Keep ReadingShow less

A TikTok post about McDonald's prices and President Joe Biden speaking with attendees at the Moving America Forward Forum.

Sometimes, there are images that perfectly encapsulate a moment in time. In December 2022, a viral TikTok video featuring a burger meal at McDonald's that cost a whopping $16.10 went viral, and to many Americans struggling through inflation, the image rang true.

Topher Olive posted the TikTok video on December 10, 2022, showing a burger, large fries, and a large Coke that cost $16.10.

The price of a value meal at McDonald’s is something that every American understands. The Economist even uses the Big Mac sandwich as a tongue-in-cheek way of measuring the purchasing power between countries.

Surely, if a McDonald’s burger meal was becoming too expensive for the average American to eat for lunch every day, then the country must be headed in a disastrous direction. The image was the perfect weapon for those looking to blame President Biden for his handling of the economy in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keep ReadingShow less