A member of the Fox family has once again attacked former President Barack Obama, this time calling him an insect that should be sent to jail for a comment directed at President Donald Trump.
Lou Dobbs, anchor of “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on Fox Business, made the comments on his show on Friday.
According to Dobbs, Obama was “railing against” Trump during a leadership summit in India.
“How nice that the President of the United States has all of these, I don’t know, fleas just trying to scratch anywhere they can,” Dobbs said.
Later he said:
“I think U.S. Marshals should follow him, and any times he wants to go follow the president like he is, and behave — I mean, this is just bad manners, it’s boorish, it’s absurd. He doesn’t realize how foolish he looks. I mean, he should be brought back by the Marshals. Isn’t there some law that says presidents shouldn’t be attacking sitting presidents”
Dobbs’ guest, Steve Forbes — editor-in-chief of his family’s namesake magazine — said that Obama is irrelevant.
“What he hasn’t gotten used to is he doesn’t matter anymore,” Forbes said, saying Obama can achieve “publicity” but not create “policy.”
For his part, Forbes was an unsuccessful candidate for president during the Republican primaries in 1996 and 2000. He never quite made it to the Oval Office.
Obama, who spent two terms in the White House, over the weekend wrapped up a five-day world tour, during which he made several speeches and met with other leaders from around the world. During a stop in New Delhi, India, the former president addressed a remark that his wife, Michelle, had made at an event in Toronto earlier in the week. Both Obamas referenced Trump, but neither mentioned the current president by name.
The former first lady said during the speech in Canada (which was “a sold-out few-thousand-person throng,” according to Page Six) that it is “never a good idea” to “tweet from bed” — an apparent dig at Trump’s late night and early morning Twitter habit.
And her husband quipped while in New Delhi, “I actually have more than other people who use it more often.”
“Don’t say the first thing that pops into your head, just have a little bit of an edit function, that’s wise for life generally,” Obama also advised. “You see people getting in all kinds of trouble because they just send out some tweet and then they’re trying to erase it afterwards but somebody’s screenshot[ted] it and they’re embarrassed.”
The Chicago Tribune described Obama’s international trip as part of “a longstanding tradition” where former presidents journey around the world, meeting with foreign leaders and raising money and awareness for various causes and foundations. In Obama’s case, there may be a bit more work involved when making such trips.
“But Obama’s trip may garner particular attention, given that many foreign countries are still uncertain about Trump’s foreign policy and may look to his predecessor to help explain America’s current direction,” the publication noted.
During his excursion, the former president also met with the Dalai Lama.
According to The Washington Post, a spokesperson for the Dalai Lama reported that the religious leader of Tibet said to Obama, “You are not only a former U.S. president but you are a Nobel laureate, you are young and you can do a lot. We should fulfill our aspiration for world peace. Maybe my generation will not see the results, but your generation will definitely see the results.”
Dobbs, meanwhile, throughout the weekend continued his comments, which he said were “a joke.”
Joe Walsh, a Republican former congressman and current conservative talk radio host, said on Twitter that while he “can’t stand Obama,” Dobbs’ remarks were “just plain dangerous.”
Look, I can’t stand Obama, but for @LouDobbs to suggest Obama should be ARRESTED for criticizing Trump is just plain dangerous.
It’s called free speech. Don’t be a cupcake Lou. https://t.co/6TX8TBVcBX
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 3, 2017
“if you can’t take a joke, Joe, you might work on your sense of humor. if you have one,” Dobbs retaliated.
if you can’t take a joke, Joe, you might work on your sense of humor. if you have one. https://t.co/qnbLlByRzV
— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) December 3, 2017
But to call for a former president’s arrest can hardly be considered a joke, Walsh noted in a responding tweet.
I’m a fan of yours Lou, but given your complete adoration of Trump, I didn’t think it was a joke. Plenty of others didn’t either.
All the best. https://t.co/JNqkNO5Kbw
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 3, 2017
Obama has largely stayed out of the public eye since his departure from the White House earlier this year. He has made several criticisms of Trump but has rarely referenced the current president specifically by name.
The same cannot be said for other former presidents who have attacked Trump — but no one appeared to call for their arrests.
Both former Presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush have taken specific, pointed jabs against Trump.
In “The Last Republicans,” a new book by historian Mark Updegrove, H.W. Bush called Trump “a blowhard.”
“This guy doesn’t know what it means to be president,” the elder Bush added.
According to CNN, Bush also said to Updegrove in May 2016, “I don’t like him. I don’t know much about him, but I know he’s a blowhard. And I’m not too excited about him being a leader.”
George W. Bush, Bush’s son, similarly told the historian, “As you know from looking at my family, [humility] is a certain heritage. That’s what they expect, and we’re not seeing that [in Trump].”
The younger Bush also publicly said that he did not vote for Trump.
