There is nothing like primary debate night for weird statements, gaffes, and drama. That is, if you’re the kind of person who follows politics. And if you are, then you probably think it goes without saying that none of the Democrats vying for the 2020 nomination are a Barack Obama-level candidate. Or rather, it usually goes without saying. Out loud.

But not if you’re DNC Chair Tom Perez, who kicked off night two with a kick-in-the-teeth reminder of who the party doesn’t have to face Donald Trump next year.

“I’ve read that speech a thousand times,” said Perez, reminiscing about Martin Luther King Jr writing the I Have a Dream speech. “That speech embodies the hopes and aspirations of a nation. It was about the intersection of labor and civil rights. The challenges of the time, as Dr. King correctly said. Where jobs and justice — jobs and justice, the same challenges we tackle today. Jobs and justice.”

“And I’ve had the honor of tackling the challenges at our labor secretary and as the head of your civil rights division under Barack Obama,” said Perez. “Am I only one who misses Barack Obama in this room?!”

The crowd went wild.

Perez was probably thinking of the context of Trump in the Oval Office rather than Obama. But considering he was introducing the contenders for that office next time around, it was a rather, if accidental, pointed comment.

The audience seems to miss Obama. Probably they, too, were thinking of him in comparison to Trump and not to the candidates that were about to take the stage.

Probably.

from Mediaite https://ift.tt/2MvVbP4