Barack Obama

Barack Obama Returns To The White House And Refers To Joe Biden As "Vice President," Then Clarifies: "That Was A Joke"

It feels like the good old days.” “We are not supposed to do this just to occupy a seat or hang on to power. The Navy mess has been replaced by a Baskin Robbins. And there’s a cat running around. We are supposed to do this because it is making a difference in the lives of the people who sent us here.” As he started his speech in the East Room, Obama quipped that “I heard some changes have been made by the current president since I was last here. “That was a joke,” Obama said, with the current president and current vice president by his side.

The former president returned for the first time since he left office in January 2017, delivering a speech laced with inside jokes to an audience of ...

“It was the high point of my time,” Obama said. “The ACA is the most consequential health-care legislation passed in generations in our country — and it is something more,” she said. He suggested that the White House mess has been replaced by a Baskin Robbins, referring to Biden’s love of ice cream. Though the topic was health care, Obama and Biden emphasized different themes. He offered a few reasons for the initial reluctance of Americans to embrace the law, largely blaming Republican attacks. “It’s good to be back in the White House,” Obama said, with his signature deliberate cadence. But he also offered some self-critique, citing the near-disastrous rollout of the Obamacare website. And then, perhaps trying to cover up a mistake, assured the crowd, “That was a joke. But even before that, during the Democratic primary, Biden’s events were known for starting late and having little energy, a contrast to Obama’s 2008 campaign, which pulled thousands of people into the streets in city after city. Pelosi had been instrumental in the passage of the ACA. But on Tuesday, Obama’s reemergence brought moments of levity — as well as, perhaps, good memories, when the party had catapulted the country’s first Black president to the White House, an inspirational figure who enacted a universal health-care law. It was ostensibly an event to celebrate the Affordable Care Act, signed into law 12 years and 13 days ago.

When former President Barack Obama walked into the White House on Tuesday, it was his first time in the building since he welcomed then-President-elect ...

When it passed, Biden made one of his most infamous asides when he whispered to Obama that it was a "big f**king deal." "We're going to get even more people covered in the years to come under your guidance," Obama told Biden in the video. He and Biden appeared in a video together last August encouraging Americans to sign up, one of their only joint appearances since Biden took office. That appearance, in 2010, was remembered principally for Clinton holding court from the briefing room podium for half an hour -- long after Obama had exited the room. Obama is no stranger to uphill midterm battles; he endured losses in both 2010 and 2014. Sometimes the results are somewhat pained: On "Best Friends Day" in 2019, Biden shared an image of friendship bracelets with "Joe" and "Barack" written in beads. Four years earlier, Obama had viewed Hillary Clinton as his Democratic successor instead of Biden, who decided not to run as he grappled with his son's death. That could potentially stand in contrast to Biden, whose approval ratings remain near historic lows heading into campaign season. "That was a joke!" The Navy Mess has been replaced by a Baskin-Robbins. And there's a cat running around." All that makes Tuesday's event a significant moment for each man. "It is good to be back in the White House. It's been a while," Obama said when he began his remarks.

It was Back to the Future at the White House. Starring Barack Obama as Marty McFly and Joe Biden as Doc Brown. And ignoring Donald Trump as Biff Tannen, ...

He shook hands with and embraced Biden again, who walked to the lectern and played his part. Trump was never mentioned but Obama said to laughter: “It’s fair to say a lot of Republicans showed little interest in working with us to get things done. Obama, who has since delved into TV production and memoir writing, went on: “It is good to be back in the White House. It’s been a while. Obama added, “That was a joke!”, walked over to Biden, shook hands, leaned in and patted his back. “We weren’t sure who was supposed to sit where,” the 46th president said later with a grin. He was hosted in the Oval Office by the protege who happens to be 19 years his senior.

Good afternoon, OnPolitics readers! Good news for student loan borrowers out there.. President Joe Biden plans to extend the moratorium on federal ...

Suicide in the military is on the rise, climbing from 20.3 per 100,000 troops in 2015 to 28.7 per 100,000 in 2020. Preventing suicide among soldiers has seized the attention of the Pentagon's senior leadership. There are also 10,000 Air Force airmen based in Alaska. Many in the same parts of the state. Alaska 'can kill you.' It's below freezing about half the year in Fairbanks, and on its darkest winter day, it sees a few hours of twilight. This time, inflation is climbing and gas prices are soaring in part due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. All the while, the nation’s $1.7 trillion student loan debt portfolio continues to grow, with no firm direction for the indebted. For some debtors, the payment pause gave them a little more breathing room to reclaim their lives.

The visit to the White House by former President Barack Obama, one of the Democratic Party's most popular figures, comes at a time when President Biden ...

Before announcing that he would pull American troops from Afghanistan, Mr. Biden called Mr. Obama both to give him a heads-up and to seek his approval. The appearance was viewed as an endorsement of sorts from a man whose support Mr. Biden has always sought but has not always readily received. With seven months to go until the midterm elections, voters have also questioned the Biden administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Moments after Mr. Obama took the lectern, he joked that Secret Service agents were now wearing aviator sunglasses, Mr. Biden’s preferred choice of eyewear. The visit by Mr. Obama, one of the Democratic Party’s most popular figures, comes at a time when Mr. Biden’s presidency could use a boost. Health officials in the Obama administration believed that the change was not possible under the law. Mr. Biden also said that it was still under attack by Republicans. “They’re unrelenting,” he said. Many of the other major gaps in insurance coverage were addressed in the big social spending and climate package that passed the House late last year. The change, proposed as a new regulation, would allow the relatives of people with health coverage through their employer to qualify for financial assistance if they buy insurance on the Obamacare marketplaces. It was then up to Actually The President Biden, who had served as Mr. Obama’s vice president, to show off the other role he had held under Mr. Obama for eight years: comedic foil. While subsidies have helped blunt the costs for many Americans, premiums for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act remain very expensive. Democrats suffered deep losses in the 2010 midterm elections, and they have struggled to regain comfortable margins in the Senate ever since.

Former president returns to mark 12 years of Affordable Care Act, his signature legislative achievement – follow the day's politics news.

“It’s fair to say a lot of Republicans showed little interest in working with us to get things done,” he said, as the crowd laughed. “Coming back here gives me a chance to say thank you and gives me a chance to spend some time with an extraordinary friend and partner who was by my side for eight years,” Obama said. “If you can get millions of people health coverage and better protection, it is, to quote a famous America, a pretty - ” Obama paused “ - big deal. “But despite great odds, Joe and I were determined because we met too many people on the campaign trail who shraed their stories. “It’s fair to say a lot of Republicans showed little interest in working with us to get things done,” he said, as the crowd laughed. “Coming back here gives me a chance to say thank you and gives me a chance to spend some time with an extraordinary friend and partner who was by my side for eight years,” Obama said. “We’re not supposed to do this just to occupy a seat, or to hang on to power. Gaetz then went off on Austin, saying that the Pentagon “got it wrong” with their predictions that Russia would overrun Ukraine within days and that the Taliban would not take control of Afghanistan last year. “The reason we are here today is because President Biden, vice-president Harris, everyone who has worked on this thing, knew from the start that the ACA wasn’t perfect. “Russia does not have unlimited resources, especially now, given the crippling sanctions we have put in place,” she said. “These measures will degrade key instruments of Russian state power and impose acute and immediate economic harm on Russia and hold accountable the Russian kleptocracy that funds and supports Putin’s war.” “But despite great odds, Joe and I were determined because we met too many people on the campaign trail who shraed their stories.

Perhaps it was nostalgia for a “before Trump” time. Perhaps it was fond remembrance of a president who was both sane and charismatic. No matter the reason for ...

That’s the burden of being the adults in the room and the only party that defends functional government and democracy. That’s not about the midterms; that’s about why you’re in government and making government work for people ... even when everybody says it’s not possible.” It was not the end of the world; indeed, the country gained something. We can only hope Obama stiffened the Democrats’ spines and hardened their resolve. In the presence of his former boss, President Biden seemed energized. He reminded the audience that Republicans still want to take away the ACA and painted a bright distinction between the parties. Why do Republicans come to D.C. if it means running from reporters asking questions about the Jan. 6 insurrection, coming up with bogus reasons to oppose a historic Supreme Court nominee or flattering a delusional narcissist bent on damaging democracy? “We’re not supposed to do this just to occupy a seat or to hang on to power," he said. Perhaps it was fond remembrance of a president who was both sane and charismatic. Which, for a while, it looked like it might.” But that is morally incontrovertible. Democrats did not decide then that it couldn’t be passed because it didn’t have bipartisan support. Destruction and chaos might generate temporary fervor among voters, but it’s building something sustainable that defines a politician.

Former President Barack Obama expressed support for his former vice president Joe Biden late Tuesday.

“The man is a puppet and nobody likes him. Biden had played the good sport during Tuesday’s event touting ObamaCare, referring to himself as “Joe Biden, Barack Obama’s vice president” and saying the return of his former boss to the White House “brings back so many good memories.” “No one of his 80 million voters wants to talk to him?” tweeted John Dennis, a Republican candidate for the House of Representatives from California.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis displays the signed Parental Rights in Education, aka the Don't Say Gay bill, flanked by elementary school students during a news ...

But subsequent events, especially the invasion of Ukraine, showed that Moscow remains a top US adversary. But two people close to Obama later told CNN's Jeff Zeleny it had been a slip of the tongue, and not how Obama had intended to begin his remarks touting the legacy of the Affordable Care Act. The presidential burden of responding to Vladimir Putin's atrocities, the raging tempest of rising inflation and a likely midterm election hammering by Republicans, now rests with Biden. The ex-President seemed to be talking directly to his party, which has been riven by divides among progressives and moderates that have stalled Biden's ambitious social spending and climate change plan. The plan strips funding for global vaccination drives that could snuff out future variants. And in a country as big and as diverse as ours, consensus never comes easily." But it did draw the line at Cawthorn. The congressman earned a rebuke because he embarrassed his colleagues in front of their constituents. And given Trump's racist birtherism campaign against his predecessor, there's even less of a chance that Obama would have shown up to any such event. Romney also delivered another gift to the White House this week. While she's almost certain to be confirmed, Jackson's treatment highlighted how the process of installing a new associate justice on the Supreme Court has become a vicious political play for base voters. He began his speech by addressing his host as "Vice President Biden" before quickly correcting himself, saying, "That was a joke!" Obama is set to speak about misinformation in a Chicago speech on Wednesday.