Barack Obama makes secret trip to Portland Nike HQ joking he’s ‘there for the merch’ as former President keeps a low profile after Tucker Carlson claimed he enjoyed smoking CRACK and having gay sex
Former US President Barack Obama arrived in Portland, Oregon to visit the Nike campus.
The passionate environmentalist was seen leaving a private jet at Hillsboro Airport before embarking on a clandestine trip to Nike headquarters, multiple sources said. KOIN 6.
Obama’s presence was kept secret, with local and mainstream media only being made aware of his presence when images from his plane emerged on Wednesday.
Obama joked about wanting “free swag” and gave a short speech about the company’s commitment to excellence in a video posted to social media by a Nike employee.
“So, who’s in charge of my swag?” the former president was heard asking. “I mean, you know why I’m here: for the latest stuff, so I can impress my daughters.”
Obama also appeared at the Mia Hamm Building, which houses top Nike executives, and was given a brief tour of the LeBron James Innovation Center, where new products are developed.
Former US President Barack Obama arrived in Portland, Oregon to visit the Nike campus
Obama joked about wanting ‘free swag’ and gave a short speech about the company’s commitment to excellence
Obama visited Nike’s headquarters (pictured) in Washington County, Oregon, in 2015 to push for a new trade deal with Asia, amid controversy and backlash
He left around 2 p.m., as a small motorcade left the sportswear giant’s Washington campus.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said they assisted with traffic control as Obama traveled from the airport to Nike and back. Oregon Live reported.
Obama’s visit was not announced in advance to the media and the purpose of his trip remains unclear.
Since appearing at Arthur Ashe Stadium with his wife Michelle last month to witness Coco Gauff’s first-round victory, the former president has appeared to keep a low profile.
His less public attitude comes next former Fox news host Tucker Carlson claimed he smoked crack and had sex with men.
Tucker Carlson has claimed that Barack Obama smoked crack and had sex with men in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election
“In 2008, it became very clear that Barack Obama had had sex with men and smoked crack,” Carlson claimed on his popular Adam Carolla Show last month.
The former Fox News host echoed Larry Sinclair’s accusation that Obama bought and smoked cocaine before they had sex in 1999.
The accusation, which emerged as then-Senator Obama was preparing for the presidential elections, was roundly condemned as an attempt at political strife.
“A man came up, Larry Sinclair, and said, ‘I’ll sign an affidavit,’ and he did. “I’ll take a polygraph and he did,” he added.
“I smoked crack with Barack Obama and had sex with him,” that was clearly true.”
Carlson claimed that the media did not spread the story because the Obama campaign threatened to deny access to the Democratic candidate.
At the time, Sinclair was dismissed by the media as a man with an extensive criminal record ‘with a specialty in crimes involving deception’.
But Carlson insisted the allegations were true. He said, “That Larry Sinclair thing, that definitely happened.
“I talked to Larry Sinclair about it. It certainly happened.
“Larry Sinclair has been in and out of prison forty years ago, he has a criminal record by definition and he’s poor, he has a disorderly life, he’s missing a tooth.
“I think he has a reputation for deception, but this story, if you listen to it in detail, is clearly true.”
He added: “It won’t change the world that Barack Obama likes guys, I think it was common knowledge.”
The former Fox News host insisted it was “very clear” that Obama (pictured with his wife Michelle) had homosexual relationships, but the media chose not to report on it
His most recent appearance with Nike came years after his last visit in 2015.
The 2015 trip came as Obama promoted the Trans-Pacific Partnership with Asian countries while Congress debated whether to give Obama so-called fast-track authority to complete that and other trade deals.
Unions protested the then-president’s visit, arguing that the trade deals would shift American jobs to other countries with cheap labor and little worker protection.
Nike has been under heavy criticism for decades for its use of foreign sweatshops with numerous reports of child labor, low wages and poor working conditions.
Nike improved conditions and eventually wages rose, minimum age requirements were introduced, and Nike increased training and supervision in the factories.
Despite Nike’s progress and image change, labor issues continue to plague its contracted manufacturers.
A 2011 Associated Press investigation found that workers making Nike Converse sneakers in Indonesia said supervisors physically and verbally abused them.
Nike found that a third of contract manufacturers fell short of minimum standards in 2013 – an improvement from 2011, when half of manufacturers fell short. Most of the problems concerned hours and wages.