Could Obama's attacks on President Trump backfire on Democrats?
Politico questions whether Obama's support of Joe Biden will energize Trump supporters; reaction on 'The Five.'
Juan Williams and Jesse Watters took opposing viewpoints on "The Five" Thursday while discussing a POLITICO article that argued former President Barack Obama is falling into a "trap" by criticizing President Trump.
"President Obama, when he left office, I think he had an approval rating of like 59 percent. President Trump's never come close," Williams told co-host Dana Perino. "And now you have President Trump, you know, raising the specter of 'Obamagate,' a totally phony scandal."
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"Here is the essence of the Trump Trap. For critics, not speaking out against his provocations could be reasonably interpreted as complicity or cowardice," John F. Harris wrote in the column in question. "Speaking out, however, gives those provocations the centrality upon which the Trump movement depends."
Williams said he believes any Obama intervention in the race benefits presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
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"This is going to energize, and I think this benefits Biden, especially with a minority of specifically black voters," Williams said. "And that's a key for the Democrats, black voter turnout, and they feel very strongly, [in a] positive sense, about President Obama."
Watters responded by assering that the 44th president is, in part, responsible for Trump's ascent to the White House.
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"Barack Obama, whenever he campaigns for other people, whether it's in the midterms or [for] someone like Hillary, that person always gets demolished," Watters said. "I mean, he's had a horrible track record when he's not on the ticket. I don't see why this would be any different.
"One of the main reasons Donald Trump was elected in the first place was because of Barack Obama," Watters said. "We had eight years of a horrible economy, bad trade deals, Iranian nuclear deal that ushered in the era of Trump."
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