Political divisiveness is harming American families, says Barack Obama in Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz. — President Barack Obama has been on the campaign trail for the Harris-Walz ticket. On Friday, he visited the University of Arizona and spoke to a rally with more than 5,000 attendees. He attacked former President Donald Trump’s character, and said Vice President Kamala Harris would unify the country.
“Donald Trump is a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped complaining about his problems since he rode down that golden escalator nine years ago,” Obama said. “When he’s not complaining, he’s trying to sell you stuff.” Obama taunted Trump, calling him the “tough guy on China,” for relying on a foreign adversary “to make a quick buck.”
Obama’s voice sounded hoarse, and he admitted he was “a little out of practice” with campaigning, but the attendees didn’t seem to mind. Obama said American leaders have to reign in political divisiveness, and claimed Harris could do that.
“Donald Trump wants us to think that this country is hopelessly divided between us and them, between the ‘real Americans,’ by which he means his supporters, and ‘the outsiders’ … because having people divided and angry and aggrieved and resentful, he figures that boosts his chances to get elected,” Obama said.
He said Trump’s long stump speeches sound like “word salads,” and ridiculed him for playing music and swaying to “YMCA” instead of taking questions at a town hall where two people had medical emergencies.
Obama took credit for handing over a booming economy to Trump after spending “eight years cleaning up the mess that Republicans had left me.”
Obama spoke of his relationship with John McCain, the late senator from Arizona who ran against Obama for president in 2008. Obama said he didn’t want to “over-romanticize” his relationship with McCain, but he praised McCain as honest and open to other people’s views. “He didn’t demonize his political opponents,” Obama said, reminding the audience of the time McCain stood up for Obama after a woman at one of his rallies said Obama was an “Arab.”
“He knew that if we get in the habit of bending the truth to suit political expediency or party orthodoxy, our democracy can’t work,” Obama said.
Not everyone agrees American has grown less divisive during the Biden-Harris administration, but polls and research show American want less divisiveness, which was the theme of Obama’s remarks.
“It’s hard to have political conversations right now. Sometimes families are getting divided. It’s getting so intense, and it shouldn’t be like that,” Obama said. But he said Harris and Gov. Tim Walz have a “vision for a new way forward for Arizonans and all Americans.”
He brought up Harris’ economic policies, including a $6,000 child tax credit and $25,000 down payment support for first-time homeowners.
“If you’re starting to stop business, Kamala Harris will give you a $50,000 tax credit to help you get it off the ground,” Obama said. “That’s who Kamala is. That’s what she stands for. Not concepts of a plan — actual plan.”
The voters at the rally the Deseret News spoke to all indicated they are witnessing the political divide seeping into their everyday life in Arizona.
Dave Moller, 61, who works in insurance, said it’s impossible to bring up politics among friends without the risk of losing them. “So nobody even talks about it and we just kind of ignore it,” he said. “It wasn’t ever like that before.”
Linda Price-Barry, 63, and David Barry, 67, who traveled from Phoenix, nearly two hours away, praised Obama for raising an issue affecting many voters.
“You feel as though you cannot express any kind of viewpoints, that you’re going to be now browbeaten for that by others,” David said. “You see it online, you see it on TV, and even with our own family members. We don’t even put it on Facebook most of the time.”
His wife added she was raised in Los Angeles, California, and folks with different political affiliations “sat at the same table and spoke politics together.”
“There were no lies. There were opinions and there was resistance to new ideas, but not necessarily that deep division,” she said. But in the present day, she’s witnessed friendships decided based on who the person voted for.
“I just feel that we live in a world now where if I don’t agree with you, then I can’t have any say or my opinion doesn’t count,” she added. Together, this couple has attended the recent rallies of Harris, Walz, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, and Dr. Jill Biden.
Obama’s last visit to Tucson was roughly 13 years ago, following the 2011 assassination attempt of Rep. Gabby Giffords, who survived a severe brain injury. Six people died that night. Holding on to Sen. Mark Kelly, Giffords, now a gun reform activist, appeared on stage and gave short remarks, thanking the “decent man from Delaware” for always checking on her, and indicating she has an equal amount of faith in Harris.
Rep. Ruben Gallego, who opened for Obama, was on the stage during the former president’s remarks. Gallego is running for the open Senate seat in Arizona against Republican candidate Kari Lake.