[imagesource: YouTube / MLive]

I will never understand people who hero-worship politicians.

Sure, the likes of Madiba deserve universal acclaim but these days such examples are few and far between.

In the US, you’re unlikely to find a universally liked politician for generations to come as the divide between Democrats and Republicans continues to widen and the rhetoric nastier.

On Saturday, former president Barack Obama was trying to make a point about the danger of said rhetoric during a campaign rally in Detroit for Governor Gretchen Whitmer and other Democrats.

The first interruption came less than 10 minutes after Obama took the stage, according to The New York Times:

…a man in the crowd shouted at him while he was lamenting Friday’s attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi…

Mr. Obama told the man, “You wouldn’t do that a workplace. It’s not how we do things. This is part of the point I want to make. Just basic civility and courtesy works.”

You can see that exchange from the 1:20 mark:

Almost immediately, an edited version of the above video was widely shared by right-wing users, with the audio edited to make it appear as though the crowd was chanting ‘f*ck Joe Biden’.

Another widely shared clip from the same speech featured a rather positive heckle:

Obama: I’m getting old and gray.

Black lady: You fine than a mfer. pic.twitter.com/8ilpc5GsKM

— Renee (@PettyLupone) October 29, 2022

Obama was again interrupted later in his speech and said that “the current lack of respect in political discourse was different from when he first ran for president in 2008”.

A lot has changed since then, pal.

[source:nytimes]