Obama in Berlin: "We can't hide behind a wall"
In his first speech in Europe since he left office, former President Obama sounded a familiar theme from his presidency -- the need to embrace globalization -- and there seemed to be a veiled slap at his successor in his remarks.
" [If] there is bad governance, if there is war or if there is poverty, in this new world that we live in we can't isolate ourselves. We can't hide behind a wall," he said in Berlin, at a panel on democracy with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. We need "to recognize what happens on the other side of the world or in these other countries that it has an impact on us," Obama said.
He also reflected on his tenure, tellling Berliners that health care reform and getting 20 million people insured who hadn't been before the ACA was one of his proudest achievements.
"Certainly I have regrets that we weren't able to get everyone healthcare, and obviously some of the progress that we made is now imperiled because there is still a significant debate taking place in the United States," he said.
This is the first time Obama has commented on health care reform since the House passed its legislation, the American Health Care Act (AHCA). The Congressional Budget Office issued its latest score for the plan on Wednesday, showing 23 million fewer Americans would be left without health insurance over the next decade if the AHCA becomes law.
The former president also weighed in on things he hoped would come to pass in the future, like the elimination of nuclear weapons.
"With respect to military budgets, look what I would love to see for example, is the ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons from this planet, absolutely. In some cases we were able to reduce some of the reliance on both our and Russia's nuclear arsenals," said Obama. "But at the same time where it takes us to move from a point where, we are lifting people out of poverty, it's gonna require steady efforts to take the need out of military budgets. "
Obama said the U.S. instead needs to emphasize diplomacy and development alongside the military in order to be less reliant on military action, saying, "The national security budget shouldn't just be seen as military hardware but should be seen as development and should be seen as diplomacy."
President Trump's budget proposes a $54 billion increase to defense spending, which is 10 percent above an existing cap on Pentagon spending, and it's offset by an equal cut to non-defense programs.
When asked to reflect on his 8 years as president, Obama replied that it's only been four months and that he doesn't quite yet have the proper historical perspective, but that he has mostly been catching up on sleep and spending more time with former First Lady Michelle Obama, "so that she forgives me for all the times that I've been away." Obama added that for now he'll be focusing on his presidential center and the Obama Foundation.