Former President Barack Obama took a shot at members of the Republican Party who haven’t gotten over the legalization of same-sex marriage in the US.
Obama made the statements during a campaign event for former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, who is running for a non-consecutive second term in the November 2 election.
Barack Obama: That ship has sailed
The former chief executive was responding to a statement made by McAuliffe’s Republican opponent, Glenn Youngkin, who said in an interview with Associated Press that he opposed marriage equality.
“Are we still arguing about gay marriage? Really? I thought that ship had sailed. I thought that was pretty clearly the right thing to do,” Obama said during the event at the Virginia Commonwealth University.
Youngkin said that same-sex marriage was “legally acceptable.” The Supreme Court had legalized this nationwide in 2015.
In response to this, McAuliffe said he was “proud to be the first Southern governor to officiate a same-sex wedding.” What’s more, he said he would “always stand up for marriage equality here in Virginia.”
He emphasized: “We’ve come too far to go back now.”
Barack Obama warns of Republican damage
Obama came to McAuliffe’s support during the event, saying that a Republican win in the November polls would “damage” the state.
He warned: “I’m here today because I believe Virginia will make the right choice. I believe America, ultimately, will make the right choice.”
“I believe you right here in Virginia are going to show the rest of the country, and the world, that we’re not going to indulge in our worst instincts,” he said.
He added, “We’re not going to go back to the past that did so much damage, we’re going to move forward with people like Terry leading the way.”
McAuliffe currently holds a tight lead over Youngkin in surveys.
Youngkin pushing conspiracy theories
Obama further warned that Youngkin was encouraging the spread of “lies and conspiracy theories” of widespread voting fraud in the 2020 elections as raised by former President Donald Trump.
These allegations later led to the January 6 riot this year with Trump supporters storming the Capitol.
“Either he actually believes in the same conspiracy theories that resulted in a mob, or he doesn’t believe it but he is willing to go along with it, to say or do anything to get elected,” Obama said.
“And maybe that’s worse… because that says something about character,” he added.
In response, a campaign spokesperson for Youngkin said Obama’s remarks were “false statements.”