Former President Barack Obama said President Joe Biden is “finishing the job” of his administration in an interview released on Tuesday.
Obama told the New York Times that his former vice president is finishing the goals laid out during his time in office, noting that 90% of his former staffers “are continuing and building on the policies we talked about, whether it’s the Affordable Care Act or our climate change agenda and the Paris [climate deal].”
“I think that what we’re seeing now is Joe and the administration are essentially finishing the job,” Obama added.
OBAMA DESCRIBED AS ‘PARASITE’ ON THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN NEW BOOK
Obama also reflected on former President Donald Trump‘s 2016 victory, suggesting that the election win and rebound economy that sparked during Trump’s four years in office may have marred what “would have been a more impactful shift in political views towards Democrats.”
“The fact that Trump interrupts essentially the continuation of our policies but still benefits from the economic stability and growth that we had initiated means people aren’t sure,” he said.
“Let’s say a Democrat, a Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton, had immediately succeeded me, and the economy suddenly has 3% unemployment. I think we would have consolidated the sense that ‘oh, actually, these policies that Obama put in place worked,’” Obama added.
From the start of the 2008 financial crisis to 2016, unemployment in the United States remained above 4.5%. In 2018, during the height of Trump’s term in office, unemployment fell below 4% for the first time since 2007, marking one of the key high points for his legacy.
“It’s hard to just underscore how much the bank bailouts just angered everyone, including me,” Obama said about the remedy for the 2008 financial crisis that he helped support when he opted to pass the Troubled Asset Relief Program in February 2009.
Obama said he hoped Biden’s administration would shift the next generation of voters toward more left-leaning policies. He added that he thinks the administration’s goals such as combating climate change and creating new jobs will lead to successful policy agendas that “people will notice,” saying that “it will have a political impact.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The White House did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
