Former president Barack Obama sat down with Gayle King for CBS This Morning, in his first interview since Joe Biden, Obama’s vice president, was elected to become the 46th president of the United States.
While promoting his new memoir “A Promised Land,” Obama expressed that he had no intention of joining Democrats on the campaign trail, but felt compelled to assist Biden because Donald Trump’s presidency is “not normal.”
“I think we were in a circumstance in this election in which certain norms, certain institutional values that are so extraordinarily important, had been breached – that it was important for me, as somebody who had served in that office, to simply let people know, this is not normal,” said Obama.
When King asked about the 72 million Americans who voted for President Trump in the presidential election, Obama said it’s evidence of division.
“We are still deeply divided. The power of that alternative world view that’s presented in the media that those voters consume carries a lot of weight,” he said.
Read More: Obama says he’s ‘troubled’ by GOP officials backing Trump in fake voter fraud claims
Obama said that that reality worries him. “It’s very hard for a democracy to function if we are operating on just completely different sets of facts.”
Obama also said that there’s damage being done when it comes to Trump’s false claims of voter fraud.
“The peaceful transfer of power. The notion that any of us who obtain an elected office whether it’s dog catcher or president, are servants of the people,” he said. “It’s a temporary job. We’re not above the rules, we’re not above the law. That’s the essence of our democracy.”
Obama shrugged off the notion that he’s giving president-elect Biden advice once he takes office in January. But, Obama said he will be there for moral support over the next four years.
“He doesn’t need my advice. And I will help him in any ways that I can. But no, I’m not planning to suddenly work on The White House staff or something,” he said. “There are probably some things I would not be doing, because Michelle would leave me. She’d be like, ‘What? You’re doin’ what?'”
Read More: Obama says he’s ‘troubled’ by GOP officials backing Trump in fake voter fraud claims
An October article from the New York Times outlined the Trump administration’s intent to gain 20% of votes among Black men – and increase from the 13% in 2016 – and how Democrats were taking that seriously enough to deploy Obama.
Obama was present with Biden during the campaign trail in predominantly Black cities such as Flint and Detroit, Michigan, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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