Why Don Lemon Barack Obama Speech Ignited Twitter

Photo: Vincent Thian/AP/Shutterstock.

You can always count on the Internet to deliver longing memories of when former President Barack Obama was in office, but Twitter is paying homage to the former POTUS for an entirely different reason, thanks in large part to CNN's Don Lemon.

Lemon's references to Obama started after a Sunday night Twitter storm, during which President Donald Trump attempted to prove a claim that the 44th president was responsible for “the Russian hoax.” It was the latest move in a long history of Trump pointing a finger at Obama, on and offline, for various issues that have popped during his presidency. Trump has blamed Obama for everything from the slow rate of coronavirus testing in the United States to Russia’s role in the 2016 US election.

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Refusing to let his actions go unchecked, a nearly-unhinged Lemon voiced his concerns on air about Trump’s continued attacks. “Is it because he’s smarter than you?” Lemon asks, pausing for a dramatic effect that sets the tone of the largely retweeted moment. “Better educated? Made it on his own? Didn’t need Daddy’s help? Wife is more accomplished? Better looking? I don’t know, what is it?”

Don Lemon with zero fucks left.pic.twitter.com/kbC0zghhzB
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) May 4, 2020

He stated how Trump’s actions were “a new low from a president who goes low all the time.” The criticism also came following Trump lashing out at former president George W. Bush, who on Saturday, tweeted out a message of unification as the US grapples with the coronavirus pandemic. Lemon, just as he was with Obama’s slander, wasn’t a fan.

“Oh by the way, I appreciate the message from former President Bush, but where was he during Impeachment calling for putting partisanship aside,” Trump tweeted to Fox and Friends co-host Pete Hegseth on Sunday. “@foxandfriends He was nowhere to be found in speaking up against the greatest Hoax in American history!”

But Trump's attacks on both Obama and Bush, paired with Lemon's scathing segment asking why the former president “gets under his skin,” resulted in a quite glorious Twitter trend in the form of commemorative tweets from everyone missing the Obama Years. Tweeters began to reminisce on the former president’s time in office, from his time spent volunteering in Chicago’s neighbourhoods to just how empathetic he was a leader.

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The quality of American presidents has varied widely. And there is no starker contrast, on competency, carefulness and empathy, than the current president and President Barack Obama. This humane type of leadership, especially during a crisis, is sorely missed. https://t.co/EAwe8vjBCK
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) May 4, 2020

You just don’t know how good you have it sometimes until you don’t have it anymore. We miss you @BarackObama #PresidentBarackObama https://t.co/j95w0beoME
— Crystal Murrell (@iamcrissydionne) May 4, 2020

Remember President Barack Obama's surprise visit to a Chicago food bank, lending a helping hand to volunteers tasked with preparing Thanksgiving food for people in need.

The young girl's reaction to meeting him is priceless. #PresidentBarackObama pic.twitter.com/V1Iv9sdTxE
— Samantha Finck (@FinckSamantha) May 4, 2020

It may have taken the ill-timed words of our current president, but Lemon’s speech is proof that former POTUS Barack Obama is always on our minds.