Obama confronts heckler at Arizona rally for Democrats

Barack Obama confronted a con man who had been chasing him for his comments about the economy at a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday night.

The former president also used the incident to reiterate President Joe Biden’s warning that democracy will be on the agenda next week when voters decide which political party will control the House and Senate.

Obama argued that Republicans want to reward the rich when an impostor made him sad about his own millionaire status. Barack and Michelle Obama made a coin after they left the White House and struck six-figure deals with Netflix and Crown Publishing.

Republicans want “an economy that is very good for people at the top, but not always so good for ordinary people,” Obama said when he was cut short.

“Just like you, Obama!” a young male heckler yelled at him.

“Are you going to scream?” replied Obama.

The crowd of nearly 1,000 started shouting loudly in an attempt to drown out the protester.

Obama tried to restore calm.

“Hold on, hang on, everyone,” Obama said. “Hey, young man, listen up. You know you have to be polite and polite when people talk, then other people talk and then you get a chance to talk.’

As the crowd continued to roar, Obama told them to “rest.” Stay focused.’

He then turned to make his main argument – that politics has become too demonized and leads to people getting hurt.

“This is part of what is happening in our politics today. We are distracted,” Obama said.

“You have one person screaming and suddenly everyone is screaming. You get one tweet that is stupid and suddenly everyone is obsessed with the tweet. We can’t fall for that. We have to stay focused,” he said.

Arizona has become ground zero for election controversies. The 2020 outcome has been repeatedly challenged in the state, and two lawsuits have already been filed in federal court on behalf of voters who felt intimidated by the aggressive polls at the polls late last month.

Obama said voters in the state have a choice and the result could mean “democracy as we know it in Arizona may not survive.”

Democracy as we know it is on the agenda. And nowhere is that more evident than here in Arizona,” the former president said.

“If you have election deniers serving as your governor, as your senator, as your secretary of state, as your attorney general, then democracy as we know it may not survive in Arizona,” Obama said. ‘That’s no exaggeration. That’s a fact.’

He was referring to Republican governor candidate Kari Lake, a former TV actor and election denier. Lake has said she would not have certified the results of the 2020 presidential election. She also hedged when asked if she would accept the results of her own contest.

Lake and other GOP candidates across the country have reiterated Donald Trump’s “Big Lie” that he was the winner of the 2020 contest and a victim of voter fraud. Multiple lawsuits and recounts have confirmed Biden’s victory.

Lake is slightly ahead of Katie Hobbs, the Democratic nominee.

Arizona became a hotbed of political conspiracies in the wake of the last presidential contest.

Biden won the state by less than one point over Trump. Multiple recounts confirmed his victory, but election deniers demanded recount after recount — going so far as to search for bamboo in the paper ballots while trying to argue that foreign powers were meddling. No evidence for this has been found. Biden’s victory was confirmed.

But Trump has singled out the candidates for the highest office on the ballot in Arizona this year — governor, senator and secretary of state, the office that oversees the election.

Obama also campaigned on Wednesday for Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, who is battling Republican Blake Masters.

Masters has also denied the results of the 2020 election. State Representative Mark Finchem, who is a candidate for Secretary of State, is famous in election conspiracy circles. If he wins, he will oversee the 2024 game in the state.

Obama specifically targeted Lake, who is close to Trump. Some Democrats fear she could be his running mate if he makes a bid in 2024, or she could run for president herself.

Obama accused Lake of “wanting to be Donald Trump’s best friend.”

“She’s good in front of the camera because she’s been doing it for a long time,” Obama said of Lake.

He noted that she interviewed him in 2016, when she was a local TV host and he was running for president.

“I have to admit, I don’t have a clear memory of the interview, it’s a bit hazy,” he said.

But, he added: “If we hadn’t just picked someone whose main qualifier was on TV, maybe you could give it a shot. What’s the worst that could happen? Well, we know! It doesn’t just work because someone has been on TV.’

“It turns out that being president or governor is about more than sharp lines and good lighting,” he said.

Democrats pushed through the November 8 election as a choice between democracy and autocracy, even as voters say the economy and the high cost of living are their main concern.

Republicans prefer to win the House in next week’s election. The Senate is seen as up for grabs.

Biden warned in a speech Wednesday night warning of threats to democracy that “dark forces with a thirst for power” could gain the upper hand in next week’s midterm elections.

Crime is also another concern, voters say.

Both Biden and Obama cited last week’s attack on Chairman Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their speeches.

Paul Pelosi is in hospital after being beaten with a hammer by a man who broke into their San Francisco home in search of the speaker. She was in Washington DC at the time.

Obama said he spoke to Paul. “Luckily I spoke to Paul a few days ago and he’s going to be fine,” he said.