In his first statement since leaving the White House, President Barack Obama offered his support Monday for the many Americans who have peacefully organized to protest in recent days, referring to citizens as "guardians of democracy."
Though there is no explicit mention of President Trump's executive order temporarily prohibiting the immigration of individuals from seven Muslim-majority nations, the statement does say that Obama "fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion." It also refutes the claims that this policy resembles Obama's "foreign policy decisions," likely referring to his 2011 immigration policy.
In Obama's final speech as President, he stated, "It falls to each of us to be those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy. Embrace the joyous task we have been given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours because, for all our outward differences, we in fact all share the same proud type, the most important office in a democracy, citizen."
