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International Desk: In interview with Fox, president says, without evidence\u00a0 his predecessor \u2018is behind\u2019 demonstrations over travel ban and national security leaks<\/p>\nInternational Desk: In interview with Fox, president says, without evidence\u00a0 his predecessor \u2018is behind\u2019 demonstrations over travel ban and national security leaks<\/p>\n
Donald Trump has accused former president Barack Obama and his \u201cpeople\u201d of organizing the demonstrations that have roiled city streets, airports and town halls during the first weeks of his presidency.In an interview with Fox and Friends, which will air on Tuesday morning in the US, he also suggested Obama and his allies were behind the leaks of classified information from the White House to the press.<\/p>\n
There is no evidence that the former president has had any hand in either activity.<\/p>\n
Trump was asked by the Fox interviewer whether he believes Obama is involved in organizing protests, including the recent spate of raucous Republican town hall meetings, and \u201cif he is, is that a violation of the so-called unsaid president\u2019s code?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I think he is behind it. I also think it\u2019s just politics. That\u2019s just the way it is,\u201d Trump said in the pre-taped interview, a portion of which was released on Monday night.<\/p>\n
Trump continued: \u201cYou never know what\u2019s exactly happening behind the scenes \u2026 I think that President Obama\u2019s behind it because his people are certainly behind it.\u201dRepublicans and right wing media outlets have accused the president of directing the demonstrations though a group called Organizing for Action (OFA), a progressive group that grew out of Obama\u2019s presidential campaigns. It is chaired by Jim Messina, who was Obama\u2019s deputy chief of staff during his first term and his campaign manager during the 2012 election.<\/p>\n
As a nonprofit, the group cannot advocate for a political candidate, though its agenda aligns closely with the Democratic party and Obama\u2019s key policy positions. There is no evidence the former president is personally involved with the group.<\/p>\n
Last week, Republicans faced angry constituents in town halls and district offices around the country. The action follows protests that erupted at airports in response to the Trump administration\u2019s travel ban, which closed the US borders to people from seven predominantly Muslim countries.<\/p>\n
In the interview with Fox, Trump accused Obama and his allies of possible involvement in the leaks of information from the White House.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the leaks possibly come from that group,\u201d Trump said in the interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, some of the leaks \u2013 which are really very serious leaks because they\u2019re very bad in terms of national security \u2013 but I also understand that\u2019s politics and it will probably continue.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is extremely rare for a former president to criticize his successor while in office.<\/p>\n
Last month, Obama spoke out against Trump\u2019s travel ban. In a statement, a spokesman said Obama was \u201cheartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country\u201d and that the former president \u201cfundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion\u201d.The Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
International Desk: In interview with Fox, president says, without evidence\u00a0 his predecessor \u2018is behind\u2019 demonstrations over travel ban and national security leaks Donald Trump has accused former president Barack Obama and his \u201cpeople\u201d of organizing the demonstrations that have roiled city streets, airports and town halls during the first weeks of his presidency.In an interview […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":31138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n