SOUTH AFRICA: Obama says world should resist cynicism over rise of strongmen

Barack Obama said on Tuesday the world should resist cynicism over the rise of strongmen, in an apparent reference to populist leaders who hold power in a number of countries. “Just as people spoke about the triumph of democracy in the 90s, people now are talking about the triumph of tribalism and the strong man. […]

Barack Obama said on Tuesday the world should resist cynicism over the rise of strongmen, in an apparent reference to populist leaders who hold power in a number of countries.

“Just as people spoke about the triumph of democracy in the 90s, people now are talking about the triumph of tribalism and the strong man. But we need to resist that cynicism,” Obama said in a speech in Johannesburg to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela. 

Some of Obama’s language echoed that of Trump’s critics. 

“Too much of politics today seems to reject the very concept of objective truth. People just make stuff up. We see it in the growth of state-sponsored propaganda, we see it in internet-driven fabrications, in the blurring of lines between news and entertainment,” Obama said. 

“We see the utter loss of shame among political leaders, where they are caught in a lie and they just double down and they lie some more,” he said.