Democratic institutions in the United States and around the world have become “creaking”, warned former President Barack Obama in an exclusive interview with CNN this Thursday (22). In his opinion, it remains the responsibility of US leaders to find ways to sustain them in the future.
He told the anchor of CNN Christiane Amanpour that the accusation against Donald Trump is evidence that the rule of law still reigns, for now, in the US.
According to Obama, the Western effort to guarantee Ukraine’s sovereignty is vital for the long-term protection of democracy.
However, the former president said that there are still signs that democratic norms are being eroded. He warns that economic and social inequalities would only make it harder to sustain healthy democracies in the future.
“I believe that democracy will win if we fight for it”, exposes Obama during the interview in Athens, where he is discussing issues of democracy. “Our existing democratic institutions are fragile and we will have to reform them,” he continued.
During the program “Obama & Amanpour: Will Democracy Win?”, the former US leader offered a broad view of global democratic and political issues – including Trump’s indictment earlier this month.
“It’s less than ideal,” Obama quoted of Trump. “But the fact that we have a former president who is having to answer the charges brought by prosecutors confirms the basic notion that no one is above the law and the allegations will now be resolved through a court process.”
He said more troubling than Trump’s own actions is a broader effort to “silence critics through changes in the legislative process” or “intimidate the press.” In his view, these efforts are “more prominent in the Republican Party now, but I don’t think it’s a one-party thing.”
“Having been president of the United States, you need a president who takes the oath of office seriously,” he declared. “You need a president who believes not just in the letter but in the spirit of democracy.”
Obama’s trip this week to Greece marked a return to the scene from one of his last stops abroad as president. In 2016, shortly after Trump was elected as his successor, Obama hailed the enduring power of American democracy from the system’s ancient birthplace.
Back then, as his supporters and foreign heads of state worried about the future under Trump, Obama said that American democracy was “bigger than any one person.”
He lent symbolism to his commitment to democratic ideals when he climbed the Acropolis in central Athens and visited the Parthenon, the 2,500-year-old temple built by the ancient Greeks dedicated to the goddess Athena. He also visited the museum built next to the site that houses antiques from the era.
Since then, however, concerns about American and global democracy have only intensified. Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election and subsequent attempted insurrection in the US Capitol revealed just how fragile the system remains. And autocrats around the world have consolidated power.
Meeting with dictators or other anti-democratic leaders is just one of the complex facets of the US presidency, Obama explained, noting that he dealt with many figures with whom he did not agree during his passage through the White House.
“Look, it’s complicated,” Obama said. “The president of the United States has many actions. And when I was president, I was dealing with figures in some cases who were allies, who, you know, if you pressed me in particular, they run their governments and their political parties in ways that I would say are ideally democratic? I would have to say no,” he justified.
The comments came just hours before the White House rolled out the red carpet for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on an official state visit.
Modi has been accused by rights groups of leaning towards authoritarianism, but he is also the leader of the world’s most populous democracy and is seen by the White House as an important bulwark against China’s growing influence.
Obama cited his work with Chinese President Xi Jinping on climate change as an example of finding common ground, even with leaders with poor human rights records. This week, Biden compared Xi to a dictator in comments to donors in California.
“You had to do business with them because they are important for national security reasons. There are, you know, a range of economic interests,” Obama explained.
“I think it is appropriate for the President of the United States, where he or she can, to uphold these principles and challenge – whether behind closed doors or in public – trends that are troubling. And so I’m less concerned with labels than I am with specific practices,” she continued.
Modi, who is being honored by Biden on Thursday, has demonstrated a penchant for authoritarianism that worries the West. He has cracked down on dissent, attacked journalists and introduced policies that human rights groups say discriminate against Muslims.
Obama acknowledged that he had also worked with Modi on climate change and in other areas. But he said raising concerns about Indian democracy should also enter into diplomatic conversations.
“Part of my argument would be that if you don’t protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, there is a strong possibility that India at some point will start to break apart. And we’ve seen what happens when you start having these kinds of big internal conflicts.”
While in Greece, Obama also met with participants in the Obama Foundation Leaders program. Leaders from Africa, Asia and Europe participated in breakout sessions with the former president and gave presentations on their work to promote democracy and find solutions to social issues.
Obama declared in the interview that no democracy could prosper with high levels of social or economic inequality. He used the example of an overcrowded migrant boat that sank in the Mediterranean this month, killing hundreds, which received comparatively little attention as a missing submersible around the wreckage of the Titanic.
“In a way, it’s indicative of the degree to which people’s life chances have become so disparate.”
Source: CNN Brasil

Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.