This week, liberals savagely mocked Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson for allegedly comparing slaves to immigrants. It looks like they’ve completely forgotten about all the times Barack Obama did the exact same thing.
While speaking to a group of employees at his department on Monday, Carson said: “There were other immigrants who came in the bottom of slave ships, who worked even longer, even harder, for less, but they too had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great-grandsons, great-granddaughters might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land.”
His comment quickly ignited a firestorm among critics.
Immigrants??? https://t.co/f0RH7iXBrn
— NAACP (@NAACP) March 6, 2017
Ben Carson is also the guy who once compared Obamacare to slavery. I’m starting to think he may not understand the word “slavery.” https://t.co/82PJcUC7Vg
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) March 6, 2017
The funny thing is, Obama has made very similar comments numerous times in the past. Here are eleven of them.
1. At a Naturalization Ceremony in 2015
While addressing a crowd at the National Archives and Records Administration in 2015, Obama said this.
Lots of nastiness directed @RealBenCarson – but in 2015 President Obama also referred to the slaves as immigrants https://t.co/0sinrwgQs3pic.twitter.com/OSzfbrweHb
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) March 7, 2017
2. At a Naturalization Ceremony Three Years Earlier
In a speech at a naturalization ceremony in 2012, then-President Obama said this about slave ships:
We say it so often, we sometimes forget what it means — we are a nation of immigrants. Unless you are one of the first Americans, a Native American, we are all descended from folks who came from someplace else — whether they arrived on the Mayflower or on a slave ship, whether they came through Ellis Island or crossed the Rio Grande.
It’s a line he has used often in his speeches throughout his tenure in office, with slight variations.
3. At A DNC Event on April 28, 2011
Obama had this to say while addressing a crowd at an event hosted by the Democratic National Committee on April 28:
I want a confident America where, yes, everybody makes sacrifices, but nobody bears all the burden, and we live up to the idea that no matter who we are, no matter what we look like, no matter whether our ancestors landed on Ellis Island or came here on a slave ship or crossed the Rio Grande, we are all connected to one another. We rise and fall together.
4. At Commencement Speech One Day Later
While delivering a commencement speech at Miami-Dade College April 29, 2011, Obama repeated the line above, but with a bit of a twist:
We didn’t raise the Statue of Liberty with its back to the world; we raised it with its light to the world. Whether your ancestors came here on the Mayflower or a slave ship; whether they signed in at Ellis Island or they crossed the Rio Grande — we are one people.
5. At a DNC Event in Harlem, March 29, 2011
And so what we wanted to do was adapt to the times, adapt to the 21st century, but also remind ourselves that there are some old-fashioned, timeworn values; that whether your forebears landed at Ellis Island or they came here on a slave ship or they crossed the Rio Grande, or however they got here, they typically had a commitment to hard work and a commitment to community and a commitment to family and a willingness to dream big dreams, and a patriotism that was not rooted in ethnicity but was rooted in a creed and a set of ideals and a belief that in America anything was possible.
6. At Another DNC event in California, April 22, 2011
My vision is for one where we’re living within our means but we’re still investing in our future, and everybody is making sacrifices and nobody bears all the burden, and we live up to the idea that no matter what you look like or where you come from, whether you landed here — your ancestors landed here on Ellis Island or they came here on a slave ship, or they just came over the Rio Grande, that we are all connected to one another and we all rise and fall together.
7. Another DNC Event in Austin, Texas on May 10, 2011
That’s our vision of America. It’s not a vision of a small America. It’s a vision of a big America, a bold and optimistic America, an America that does big things. It’s a vision where we’re living within our means but we’re still investing in our future; where everybody is making sacrifices, but nobody alone bears all the burden; where we live up to the idea that no matter who you — what you look like, or who you are, no matter whether your ancestors landed on Ellis Island or came over here on a slave ship or crossed the Rio Grande, that we’re all connected to one another, and that we rise or fall together.
8. Another DNC Event in Boston, Eight Days Later
No matter what we look like, where we come from, what God we worship to, no matter whether our ancestors landed on Ellis Island or came here on a slave ship or crossed the Rio Grande, we believe that we are all connected and we rise and fall together. And that is a strength. That is the strength of America. That’s the heart of the idea of America. That’s the heart of the idea of our campaign.
9. Another DNC Event in Philadelphia, June 30, 2011
And the good news is that America is possible — an America where we’re living within our means, but we’re still investing in the future. That’s possible. Where everybody is making sacrifices, but nobody bears all the burden by themselves. The idea that no matter what we look like or who we are, no matter whether our ancestors came from Ellis Island or on a slave ship, or across the Rio Grande, that we are all connected to one another, and that we rise and fall together.
10. At a Gala for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, September 2011
At the Washington D.C. event, Obama said this:
It’s a vision where we live within our means, but we invest in our future; where everybody makes sacrifices, but nobody has to bear the burden alone, and everybody shares in our success; where we live up to the idea that no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter what your surname — whether your ancestors landed at Ellis Island, or came over on a slave ship, or crossed the Rio Grande — we are all connected, and we all rise and fall together.
11. And at a Forum on American Latino Heritage, October 2011
While addressing a crowd at the Department of the Interior in Washington DC, Obama said:
And here in America, we are united by more than the color of our skin or the language that we speak. We are joined together by a shared creed, a shared set of values. We’re connected by the future we want for ourselves and our children. And we determine our own destiny here. Whether your ancestors came from a — came over on a slave ship, or crossed the Rio Grande, or were here long before the country was founded, we’re in this together. And we have the opportunity right now to determine our own destiny.
Next time progressives decide to skewer a Republican for saying something, it would behoove them to see if President Obama has said the exact same thing. Or, at least, stop pretending not to know what Ben Carson is talking about.
