“If people continue to feel like Democrats are looking after poor folks and Republicans are looking after rich folks and nobody is looking after me, then we don't get a lot of stuff done. And the trend lines evidence the fact that folks have gotten squeezed. And obviously, 2007, 2008 really ripped open for people how vulnerable they were.”

American retired politician

Barack Obama is an American retired politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American to hold the office. Before the presidency, Obama represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 2005 to 2008 and served in the Illinois state senate from 1997 to 2004. He is known for his political leadership across state and national office.