Barack Obama visited The Daily Show on Thursday to talk on the importance of youth participation in the midterm elections as well as how media infrastructure, disinformation, and globalisation have weakened democracy throughout the world.
Trevor Noah started off by asking the former president two questions: first, if he feels obliged to publicly back fresh Democratic candidates, and second, what does it imply for the party that he must constantly campaign?
While it appeared that Noah was suggesting that Obama played a significant role in the Democratic gains this year, he dispelled that idea and said that the candidates themselves were to blame.
He shouted out names like Wes Moore, Josh Shapiro, John Fetterman, and Mark Kelly to Noah, saying, "The reason we did better than projected can be ascribed to not me or anything I did...we recruited some fantastic candidates." He continued, "They are dedicated, enthusiastic, down to earth, and they connect with people. "And so my major purpose in entering is to draw attention to them."
Obama talked about something that gives him "hope" for future elections in his second point.
Young people are voting, which he noted as the second development in this midterm election. "We've seen it for three elections now, so I'm starting to feel quite hopeful that this is a habit," he added. It's been noted numerous times how badly I did in the midterm elections while I was president, and part of that was due to the extremely low turnout.
He said that while he was in the White House, many Democrats believed they were secure because he was in charge. However, he added, once individuals like Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, and others gain control, it limits what a president can do.
Obama remarked, "I think that lesson was learned. "After [Donald] Trump took office, elections like 2018, 2020, and this one have witnessed a rapid increase in young voters, who generally vote at a ratio of 70 to 30, 60 to 40, Democrat to Republican. This makes a significant impact. I believe that this election was truly driven by their enthusiasm.
And when questioned about the about 170 election sceptics who were elected this year, the former president said he felt it was "funny" that they didn't contest their own victories. But he did see one advantage to their election.
The most egregious, well-known, and potentially dangerous election deniers "got thumped," he said, thanks to some really concerted efforts in a lot of significant states. They were defeated.
However, the fact that election sceptics were able to rise through the ranks and take office may be indicative of a more significant problem on a global scale.
Obama declared that "the fundamental principles of democracy are being challenged," adding that when Americans refuse to accept defeat, "it sends a signal all over the world that weakens democracy."
