Something amazing happened at a rally for Hillary Clinton held in Fayetteville, North Carolina on Friday. While President Barack Obama was reviewing a litany of Donald Trump‘s many offenses — including his early attacks against Sen. John McCain — an elderly supporter of the Republican nominee held up a sign for all to see. The crowd instantly turned on the apparent Trump supporter, loudly booing him and drowning out the venue with chants of “Hillary!” despite Obama’s protestations.
Yes, that’s right. Instead of waiting for security to escort the gentleman out, or allowing a mob mentality to overtake the crowd, Obama spent almost two minutes trying to quiet everybody down so that he could defend the man’s right to be there. “Hold up!” he shouted. “Everybody sit down and be quiet for a second”:
“You’ve got an older gentleman who is supporting his candidate. He’s not doing nothing. You don’t have to worry about him. This is what I mean about folks not being focused.”
Obama’s lighthearted attempt at humor calmed most people down, but when a few of the more outspoken Clinton supporters interrupted him a second time, the president began defending the Trump supporter’s right to proudly display his political preference:
“First of all, we live in a country that respects free speech. Second of all, it looks like maybe he might have served in our military and we have to respect that. Third of all, he was elderly and we have had to respect our elders. And fourth of all, don’t boo, vote!”
Considering some of the more explosive moments produced by both Trump and Clinton campaign rallies in this election, Obama’s comments — and his demands on the crowd — provided 2016 with a much needed dose of class.
(Via The Daily Beast)
