Donald Trump focused on feeding his ego, did not help anyone except himself: Obama
Pittsburg (US): US President Donald Trump is focused on feeding his ego and has not shown any interest in helping anyone except himself, whereas his Democratic rival Joe Biden cares about the coronavirus pandemic and keeping "your family safe", Barack Obama has said.
Making a last pitch on Saturday to get his former vice-president and Democratic presidential candidate Biden elected as the next occupant of the White House, Obama, during rallies in Michigan, blasted Trump for his policies and rhetoric.
He said Trump in the last four years had not shown any interest in helping any of his countrymen except himself.
"President Trump is focused on feeding his ego, while the Democratic presidential candidate Biden focused on decency and empathy," said Obama, who was the 44th US president.
He hasn't shown any interest in doing the work or helping anybody but himself or his friends or treating the presidency as anything more than a reality show to give him the attention that he craves. But unfortunately, the rest of us have to live with the consequences, he said.
Obama was joined by Biden at both the Flint and Detroit rallies in Michigan, a battleground state.
"I can tell you that the presidency doesn't change who you are. It shows who are you. It reveals who you are. And for eight years, Joe was the last one in the room when I made a big decision," he said.
Obama praised the 77-year-old Biden and said, "Biden is my brother. I love Joe Biden. And he will be a great president and he treats everyone with dignity and with respect".
"That sense of decency and empathy, the belief in hard work and family and faith, the belief that everyone counts, that is who Joe is and that is who he will be as president," he said, adding that Biden made him a "better president"
"He has got the character and the experience to make us a better country. And he and Kamala (Harris) are going to be in the fight, not for themselves, but for every single one of us. And we sure can't say that about the President we have got right now," he said.
Obama, 59, alleged that Trump,74, is doing a reality show in the White House.
"You know when a country is going through a pandemic that's not what you're supposed to be worrying about," he said.
"And that's the difference between Biden and Trump right there. Trump cares about feeding his ego. Joe cares about keeping you and your family safe. And he's less interested in feeding his ego with having big crowds than he is making sure he's not going around making more and more people sick. That's what you should expect from a president," he asserted.
What is his obsession, by the way, with crowd size? You notice that? This is the one measure he has of success. He's still worried about his inauguration crowd being smaller than mine. It really bugged him. He's still talking about that. Did nobody come to his birthday party when he was a kid? Is he traumatized? What's with crowds? he asked.
The lifeblood of a campaign isn't rallies, it is not TV ads, but people willing to take a clipboard, talk to their neighbours and talk to their friends and talk to their co-workers, he said.
"Let folks know what the stakes are. And this kind of grassroots work and organizing. Makes all the difference especially in an election, like this, where the stakes are so high, Obama said.
He said there was a need to revive the pandemic-hit economy again and it could be done well once Biden was elected.
"We know that change is possible, but it's not guaranteed. And if we care deeply about restoring a sense of decency to our federal government, a government that's going to look out for ordinary people, that is gonna take this pandemic seriously and get on top of it so we can not only save lives, but also make our economy healthy again," he said.
"If we want a nation that is living up to its values, and its ideals so that, we set an example for the world. If we care about climate change and making sure that our criminal justice system is free of racial bias. Then we're gonna have to work for it. And we've just got a few more days to make that happen," he added.
Obama said Biden understands his responsibilities.
"And the other person who makes me hopeful is somebody I served with for eight years. Was in the room before I made any big decision, a person of character, a person of decency, a person of kindness.
"A person who understands the solemn responsibilities you take on when you become president of the US, somebody who's going to put you first. My friend, I could not be prouder to support him, and I could not be prouder. I hope in a few days to be able to call him Mr. President," he said.
Obama officially endorsed Biden in April, marking the Democratic establishment's formal consolidation around the party's presidential nominee.
"Choosing Joe to be my vice president was one of the best decisions I ever made, and he became a close friend," Obama had said in a video released by the Biden campaign. "And I believe Joe has all the qualities we need in a president right now," he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
West Asia conflict: More than 700 travellers from MP stranded in UAE
Indore (PTI): More than 700 people from Madhya Pradesh, including two former MLAs, are stranded in the United Arab Emirates due to flight cancellations amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, an office-bearer of a travel agents' outfit said on Sunday.
Several people from the state had travelled to the UAE for tourism and business purposes, and the crisis in the region had left them stranded, Amol Kataria, chairman of the Travel Agents Federation of India's MP unit, told PTI.
Many travellers from the state had cancelled their upcoming trips to Dubai and Sharjah, he added.
ALSO READ: Delhi airport: 100 int'l flights cancelled amid Middle East conflict
Kataria said that more than 700 people were stuck in the UAE, and among them, former MLA and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sanjay Shukla is in Dubai.
"Due to the current international situation, our return to India today could not take place as Dubai airport was temporarily closed. We are receiving full cooperation from the Dubai administration and the Government of India. We will return to Indore as soon as the situation normalises," Shukla's post on social media stated.
Talking to PTI, the former Indore legislator's son, Sagar, said that his father had gone to Dubai three days ago with former Depalpur MLA Vishal Patel and some industrialist friends, and was scheduled to return to Indore on Sunday.
He said he had spoken to his father over the phone and heard explosions during the conversation, following which his father and his friends moved to a safe location.
He expressed hope that his father and his friends would return home soon with the efforts of the Indian government.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari, in a social media post, claimed that over 100 citizens from the state were stranded at Dubai and Sharjah airports.
Women, children and families had been facing inconvenience for several hours, and anxiety had increased after flight cancellations, he said.
Patwari urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene immediately and ensure the safety of all Indians stranded in the UAE, while making arrangements for their early return home.
The United States and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed early on Sunday.
Hundreds of flights have been disrupted across West Asia and in other countries, including India, due to airspace restrictions following the joint attack and retaliatory action by Iran.
