Overview

• Speaking at the Jefferson Educational Society in Erie, Pennsylvania, Barack Obama said the country faces a dangerous moment and urged leaders to cool political tensions.
• He tied his warning to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, calling political violence “anathema” to democracy and saying “this is not normal.”
• Obama pointed to dehumanizing language by Trump aides, citing references to opponents as “vermin” and people who should be “targeted.”
• He criticized what he described as norm‑breaking uses of federal power, highlighting a National Guard deployment in Washington and ID checks by federal agents in Los Angeles.
• White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson issued a rebuttal, calling Obama “the architect of modern political division” and accusing him of sowing division.