Wait, Emily Ratajkowski is attacking Barack Obama? Right after her husband had to apologize after getting blasted for his casual use of the N-word??
One could be forgiven for seeing those two points and wondering if the model was doubling down on some sort of right-wing wagon circle around her hubby. But it’s actually exactly the opposite! EmRat went after the former president for not being progressive enough!
Video: Obama Praises Peaceful Protesters AND Good Cops In Town Hall
On Sunday, many liberals celebrated Donald Trump‘s birthday on social media with the hashtag #AllBirthdaysMatter, poking fun at the ridiculousness of the All Lives Matter messaging with a simultaneous celebration of Obama (whose actual birthday is on August 4).
But the Gone Girl actress thought everyone was letting 44 off the hook for how he dealt with the Black Lives Matter protests when he was in office. She wrote:
“Everyone is just forgetting #ferguson in 2014? Obama let Ferguson’s police department tear gas & beat citizens who were protesting the murder of #michaelbrown. He also sent the National Guard so…”
In case you’ve forgotten, what with all the other police killings over the past six years, 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot by police in Ferguson, Missouri in August 2014 despite what witnesses described as his obvious unarmed surrender. There were protests for months afterward, some of which turned violent. Ultimately the officer involved was not indicted, leading to even more unrest.
Emily continued:
“And to everyone saying ‘what was Obama supposed to do when the Missouri governor ordered in the National Guard?!’ Here is an example of what Eisenhower did in Arkansas when their governor ordered the National Guard to stop the integration of schools, so….”
She then provided a screenshot of an article explaining how in 1957 the governor of Arkansas called in the National Guard to prevent Black students from being integrated into white schools — and President Dwight D. Eisenhower responded by sending in the 101st Airborne Division and taking command of the Guard, forcing them to help with the integration instead.
We’re not sure if it’s a fair comparison overall, but it certainly does show the power a president can exude over the National Guard if he so chooses. And it’s true Obama didn’t.
Ratajkowski went on to criticize the tribalism in politics that create double standards for Democrats who get things wrong:
“Also I’m just so confused why everyone wants to resist any criticism of Obama? This isn’t Star Wars. There is no dark side vs Jedi. Politicians on BOTH the right & the left need to be criticized & held accountable so that they don’t pander to corporate & neoliberalist agendas”
What does she mean by “neoliberalist”? Well, she breaks that down in an IG Story, posting:
She also posted a video of an interview in which Obama concedes the point the Democrats have moved to the right, defending himself against far-right criticism by admitting:
“The truth of the matter is, my policies are so mainstream, if I had set the same policies that I had back in the 1980s, I’d be considered a moderate Republican.”
He’s right about that. His health care plan, which is still under siege by Trump and his ilk, was almost exactly the same one his opponent Mitt Romney had campaigned with. And as far as Emily — a strong supporter of healthcare for all — is concerned, that isn’t good enough, nor was his support of BLM.
Is she right? Should Obama have done much more while he had the power?? Or is it the wrong time to criticize the president we had while the current nightmare is in office??
What do YOU think, Perezcious pundits??
[Image via Emily Ratajkowski/Instagram/WENN/Avalon.]
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