DEMS/OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “It took all of one minute and nine seconds for President Trump to go after his predecessor on Friday [7-5-19]— just one minute and nine seconds to re-engage in a debate that has consumed much of his own time in office over who was the better president. It was former President Barack Obama who started the policy of separating children from their parents at the border, Mr. Trump claimed falsely, and it was Mr. Obama who had such a terrible relationship with North Korea that he was about to go to war. Mr. Obama had it easy on the economy, Mr. Trump added, but let America’s allies walk all over him. The litany of criticisms, often distorted, are familiar, but Mr. Trump has turned increasingly to Mr. Obama in recent days as a political foil. In part, that reflects Mr. Trump’s longstanding fixation with the former president. But it may also stem from the fact that Mr. Obama’s vice president, Joseph R. Biden Jr., remains the Democratic front-runner in the 2020 election.”
-Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman, “Two Years Into Trump’s Presidency, Obama Remains a Top Target for Criticism,” The New York Times online, July 5, 2019