In a move that critics have called bizarre, deranged, arrogant, and worse, the White House released a photograph last week of Obama depicted as a monarch — complete with a crown and a hellish-looking throne. It was apparently supposed to be some sort of attempt at humor based on a sex- and murder-packed HBO show called Game of Thrones. However, other than members of the establishment press, few Americans seem to have thought the photo of King Obama was funny. The picture was especially troubling to critics considering Obama’s increasing reliance on unconstitutional “executive actions” to advance his anti-constitutional agenda.
The controversial image was first unveiled at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on May 3, where presidents typically crack jokes with members of the establishment media. Reporters laughed. After that, the official White House Twitter account also sent out the image of Obama on the “Iron Throne,” created from 1,000 swords surrendered by conquered and subjugated officials, with a description saying it was “The Westeros Wing.” Apparently “Westeros” refers to the region where the fantasy show takes place and where ruthless and murderous tyrants fight for control of the Iron Throne.
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“This year I’ve promised to use more executive actions to get things done without Congress,” Obama told the supposed journalists and attendees at the annual dinner. “My critics call this the imperial presidency. Truth is I just show up every day at my office and do my job. We’ve got a picture of this I think.” Participants at the event laughed as the picture went up on the screen of King Obama sitting on the Iron Throne with a crown on his lap and the crossbow of a former king in the show lying on the table.
Referring to the critics who accuse Obama of behaving like a dictator or a monarch, the president then took a dishonest swipe at conservatives — apparently also intended as a joke. “You would think they’d appreciate a more assertive approach, considering that the new conservative darling is none other than Vladimir Putin,” he said as journalists chuckled. Other than citing a few statements from a handful of figures — mostly neocons — it was not immediately clear how Obama came to the conclusion that the Russian strongman and “former” KGB operative was popular among those on the Right.
Of course, analysts and lawmakers critical of the Obama administration have been arguing for years that the president is behaving more and more like some sort of Third World dictator or king. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), for example, made a reference to the behavior last year when promising that he would work to nullify Obama’s unconstitutional “executive orders” attacking the right to keep and bear arms. “I’m afraid that President Obama may have this ‘king complex’ sort of developing, and we’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen,” the senator said during a TV interview.
Incredibly, the president has stepped up his assaults on America’s constitutional system of checks and balances and the separation of powers since then — even openly boasting of his lawless machinations before, during, and after his State of the Union speech this year. “I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone — and I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions that move the ball forward,” he claimed before the speech.
During his address, he reiterated the dictatorial threats, saying, “Wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that’s what I’m going to do.” The controversial and anti-constitutional agenda outlined in the speech sparked outrage among lawmakers. In a bizarre spectacle, many Democrats in Congress actually clapped after Obama essentially told them he was making the legislative branch irrelevant — along with the American people who elect lawmakers by extension. Republicans, though, were not amused.
Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.), for example, noted that Obama “may think he’s king,” but he is not, while Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) sent out a message blasting the president as a lying “Socialistic dictator.” More recently, as Obama steps up his deeply unpopular rule-by-decree campaign, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) compared Obama to the late British tyrant and oppressor of the American colonies, King George III. “The Declaration of Independence had, I believe, 26 abuses that King George had committed against Englishmen,” Sen. Cruz said while unveiling a list of Obama’s abuses. “Well, this particular report lists 76.”
This month’s dinner was not the first time Obama has made crude jokes that everyday people would likely find horrifying. At the same event four years ago, for example, Obama joked about using drones to murder Americans — something that the family of then-16-year-old American Abdulrahman al-Alawki murdered by Obama’s drones and missiles probably did not find humorous. Noting that members of the Jonas Brothers pop rock band were in attendance, Obama said, “Sasha and Malia are huge fans; but boys, don’t get any ideas. Two words for you: predator drones. You will never see it coming.”
Thousands of people around the world, including women and children as well as Americans, have been murdered on Obama’s orders using drones in recent years — all with no charges, no trial, no jury, and no conviction. Of course, former President George W. Bush was widely and appropriately criticized for joking during a correspondents’ dinner about non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction supposedly justifying the unconstitutional war in Iraq. Other than in the alternative media, however, Obama’s troubling “jokes” appear to have gone largely unmentioned by the establishment press.
Still, there was plenty of criticism. Political analyst Michael Lotfi, writing for BenSwann.com in one of the first articles to highlight the sick “humor,” blasted Obama and his supposed jokes. “If you call making fun of your truth as a diversionary tactic a joke, then sure — we’re all laughing,” he wrote, suggesting drones would have been more appropriate than the crossbow in the image. “Regardless, Obama’s countless dead, innocent drone victims are not laughing. Furthermore, those who take their oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States are not laughing either.”
The King Obama image is “disturbing” for multiple reasons, Lofti continued. “First, those familiar with the series know all too well the nature of kings found within Game of Thrones. The kings have all been ignorant, insane and ruthless murderers, as Tywin Lannister, a central antagonist, puts it,” he explained. “Second, why the president of a constitutional republic would find such an image appropriate is beyond understanding. Could you imagine if George Bush’s administration posted such a picture?”
While Obama and his apparatchiks in the press joke about what multiple lawmakers have described as the “imperial presidency,” the Founding Fathers would likely be horrified at what has become of the limited government they created under the U.S. Constitution to protect the God-given rights of the people. In the White House photo, though, adding insult to injury, Obama is pictured under a portrait of George Washington, America’s first president who is sometimes known as “the man who would not be king.”
The American people would likely not be amused by the presidential “humor” either. In fact, polls released after Obama’s State of the Union speech showed that around seven out of 10 Americans reject his dictatorial rule-by-decree schemes. Even a CNN survey showed that two-thirds of the public oppose allowing Obama to advance his agenda unilaterally. Indeed, surveys also consistently show that the vast majority of the public now views the federal government as a threat to their liberty rather than a protector of it.
The White House could not be reached for comment due to non-working phone numbers posted on its website.
Alex Newman is a correspondent for The New American, covering economics, education, politics, and more. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ALEXNEWMAN_JOU.
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