Tag: President Obama

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White House Announces LGBT Executive Order Will Remain Intact

The White House issued this statement last night in regards to rumors that the Trump administration was circulating an executive order draft which would repeal President Obama’s LGBT protections.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 31, 2017

President Donald J. Trump Will Continue to Enforce Executive Order Protecting the Rights of the LGBTQ Community in the Workplace

President Donald J. Trump is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community. President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election. The President is proud to have been the first ever GOP nominee to mention the LGBTQ community in his nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression. The executive order signed in 2014, which protects employees from anti-LGBTQ workplace discrimination while working for federal contractors, will remain intact at the direction of President Donald J. Trump.

President Obama’s 2014 executive order was the first ever to bar federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT employees. The EO was, in part, a response to the GOP-controlled Congress who clearly were never going to pass the dead-on-arrival Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Although this is good news, it does not mean President Trump may attempt to issue additional executive orders which may give some kind of “religious freedom” clause.

Given the past few days chaos over Trump’s immigration EO, plus the fact I believe the sources who reported the draft of a repeal, I tend to believe Trump wasn’t up for more protests.

This is just my gut, but I think the EO draft may have been the brain child of notoriously anti-LGBT Vice President Mike Pence in an attempt to appease social conservatives in the Republican party.

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, issued a statement which read in part, “L.G.B.T.Q. refugees, immigrants, Muslims and women are scared today, and with good reason,” Mr. Griffin said. “Donald Trump has done nothing but undermine equality since he set foot in the White House.”

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President Obama: ‘Fundamentally Disagrees’ With Trump Immigration Order

President Obama has issued a statement regarding President Trump’s controversial immigration executive order:

President Obama is heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country. In his final official speech as President, he spoke about the important role of citizen and how all Americans have a responsibility to be the guardians of our democracy — not just during an election but every day.

Citizens exercising their Constitutional right to assemble, organize and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake.

With regard to comparisons to President Obama’s foreign policy decisions, as we’ve heard before, the President fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion.

While normally former presidents don’t chime in on a new president’s actions, in that the Trump administration has brought up Obama’s name as “having done the same thing” regarding immigration bans in the past, I think it’s fair game for Obama to issue a statement.

In the past 24 hours, Trump representatives have begun pointing to a ban of Iraq immigrants during Obama’s time in the White House.

From CNN:

Trump’s order temporarily banned immigration from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia and indefinitely stopped Syrian refugees from coming to the United States.

Though the current White House has compared Trump’s action to what Obama did in 2011 when “he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months,” Obama’s move was much narrower in scope. It was crafted in response to two Iraqi refugees implicated in a bomb making scheme and while it did not outright ban refugees from coming to the United States, it did increase the amount of vetting each Iraqi refugee received.

It’s a curious tactic, in my view, for Trump to campaign on a strong message of criticizing everything the Obama administration did, and then once in office and use an excuse of “Obama did it.”

#Weak

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The Obamas Head To Palm Springs

President Obama with former Ambassador James Costos

Just another example that shows why the Obamas are my kind of people.

Following the inauguration, the Obamas will hop on a helicopter from DC heading for Andrews Air Force Base, where they’ll take a flight at 2:45PM to Palm Springs, CA.

The former First Couple will relax in Palm Springs with longtime friends, former U.S. ambassador to Spain James Costos and his husband Michael Smith, the interior designer for the White House since 2008.

The Costos/Smiths live in an enormous abode in the Thunderbird Heights gated community in Rancho Mirage.

According to reports, this will be the fifth stay for the Obamas at the California home.

My husband, Michael, and I love Palm Springs. Gorgeous weather and uber-gay community 🙂

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President Obama’s ‘Thank You’ Letter To The American People

One day before he leaves office, President Obama issued this official goodbye letter to the American people.

According to the release: “I wanted to say one final thank you for the honor of serving as your 44th President.”

From the White House press office:

My fellow Americans,

It’s a long-standing tradition for the sitting president of the United States to leave a parting letter in the Oval Office for the American elected to take his or her place. It’s a letter meant to share what we know, what we’ve learned, and what small wisdom may help our successor bear the great responsibility that comes with the highest office in our land, and the leadership of the free world.

But before I leave my note for our 45th president, I wanted to say one final thank you for the honor of serving as your 44th. Because all that I’ve learned in my time in office, I’ve learned from you. You made me a better President, and you made me a better man.

Throughout these eight years, you have been the source of goodness, resilience, and hope from which I’ve pulled strength. I’ve seen neighbors and communities take care of each other during the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes. I have mourned with grieving families searching for answers — and found grace in a Charleston church.

I’ve taken heart from the hope of young graduates and our newest military officers. I’ve seen our scientists help a paralyzed man regain his sense of touch, and wounded warriors once given up for dead walk again. I’ve seen Americans whose lives have been saved because they finally have access to medical care, and families whose lives have been changed because their marriages are recognized as equal to our own. I’ve seen the youngest of children remind us through their actions and through their generosity of our obligations to care for refugees, or work for peace, and, above all, to look out for each other.

I’ve seen you, the American people, in all your decency, determination, good humor, and kindness. And in your daily acts of citizenship, I’ve seen our future unfolding.

All of us, regardless of party, should throw ourselves into that work — the joyous work of citizenship. Not just when there’s an election, not just when our own narrow interest is at stake, but over the full span of a lifetime.

I’ll be right there with you every step of the way.

And when the arc of progress seems slow, remember: America is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘We.’ ‘We the People.’ ‘We shall overcome.’

Yes, we can.

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Obama On LGBT Progress: “I Could Not Be Prouder Of The Transformation That’s Taken Place In Our Society”

During his final press conference with the White House press corps, President Obama was asked by the Washington Blade’s Chris Johnson on how he looked back on his administration’s accomplishments on behalf of the LGBT community.

In his answer, he gave props to all those who came out and/or live out, and thereby make themselves visible to the world. He also points to the openness and authenticity of folks like Ellen DeGeneres.

I could not be prouder of the transformation that’s taken place in our society just in the last decade. And I’ve said before I think we made some useful contributions to it, but the primary heroes in this stage of our growth as a democracy and a society are all the individual activists and sons and daughters and couples who courageously said this is who I am and I’m proud of it. That opened people’s minds and opened their hearts and eventually laws caught up. But I don’t think any of that would have happened without the activism, in some cases loud and noisy, but in some cases just quiet and very personal.

And I think that what we did as an administration was to help the society to move in a better direction, but to do so in a way that didn’t create an enormous backlash and was systematic and respectful of the fact that in some cases these issues were controversial. I think that the way we handled, for example ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ being methodical about it, working with the Joint Chiefs, making sure that we showed this would not have an impact on the effectiveness of the greatest military on earth. And then to have Defense Secretary Bob Gates, Chairman Mike Mullen and Joint Chiefs who were open to evidence and ultimately worked with me to do the right thing–I am proud of that, but again, none of that would have happened without this incredible transformation that was happening in society.

You know when I gave Ellen the Presidential Medal of Freedom, I meant what I said, somebody that kind and likeable projecting into living rooms around the country, you know, that changed attitudes. And that wasn’t easy to do for her–and that’s just one small example of what was happening in communities all across the country, so I’m proud that in certain places we maybe provided a good block down-field to help the movement advance.

I don’t think it is something that will be reversible because American society has changed–the attitudes of young people in particular have changed. That doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be some fights that are important–legal issues, issues surrounding transgender persons. There are still going to be some battles that need to take place. But if you talk to young people, Malia and Sasha’s generation, even if they’re Republicans, even if they’re conservative, many of them would tell you “I don’t understand how you would discriminate against somebody because of sexual orientation. That’s just sort of burned into them in pretty powerful ways.

Listen to his answer below:

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Poll: President Obama Leaves Office With 60% Approval Rating

Via ABC News:

Sixty percent of Americans in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll approve of Obama’s job performance, the most since June 2009, five months after he took office. Sixty-one percent approve of his handling of the economy, a career high. And as many express a favorable opinion of him personally, the most since November 2009.

These ratings stand in contrast to Donald Trump’s; as reported Tuesday, just 40 percent approve of his handling of the transition, about half the average for recent incoming presidents, and an identical 40 percent see him favorably, a third lower than Obama’s rating and the lowest for any president-elect in polls dating to Jimmy Carter in 1977.

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President Obama’s Final Weekly Address

President Obama delivered his final weekly address thanking the American people for making him a better President and a better man.

From the clip:

Our success depends on our participation, regardless of which way the pendulum of power swings. It falls on each of us to be guardians of our democracy; to embrace the joyous task we’ve been given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours. Because for all our outward differences, we all share the same proud title: Citizen.

It has been the honor of my life to serve you as President. Eight years later, I am even more optimistic about our country’s promise. And I look forward to working along your side, as a citizen, for all my days that remain.

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Joe Biden Surprised With Medal Of Freedom By President Obama

The Medal of Freedom is our country’s highest honor given to civilians.

Truly moving when you know that most presidents and vice-presidents don’t end their runs this close.

I really encourage to you watch the entire video. We don’t get to enjoy the upside of politics very often, it seems. And I find this truly uplifting to celebrate a long, outstanding life in service to our country.

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President Obama’s Farewell Speech In It’s Entirety

From laughter at Trump to sorrow and deep abiding thanks to President Obama, whose farewell speech begins at 9PM Eastern.

ABC News reports on what to expect:

In a farewell address to the American people Tuesday night, President Obama is expected to reaffirm his belief in the ability of ordinary Americans to bring about positive change in country, according to advance excerpts of the speech released by the White House.

“This is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved, get engaged, and come together to demand it,” President Obama is set to say in his adopted hometown of Chicago, where he first became involved in public service as a community organizer.

“After eight years as your President, I still believe that. And it’s not just my belief. It’s the beating heart of our American idea – our bold experiment in self-government,” the president will say.

“It’s the conviction that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s the insistence that these rights, while self-evident, have never been self-executing; that We, the People, through the instrument of our democracy, can form a more perfect union.”