LOS ANGELES_Without once mentioning the president by name, former President Barack Obama on Thursday drew sharp contrast between his eight years in office and the Trump administration.
"To a large degree, we are seeing a competition between two stories," the former president told about 200 people at a high-dollar fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee in Beverly Hills.
"There's the story that is based largely on fear, and there is a story based largely in hope. There's the story that says we're in it together, and there's the story that says there's an us and a them," Obama told DNC Chairman Tom Perez during a conversation at the event. Reporters were briefly allowed in to listen to the 48-minute discussion. The rest of the event was closed to the media.
"There's a fundamental contrast of how we view the world," the former president said, "and I think we are seeing the consequences of when one vision is realized, or at least in charge."
But, drawing on what Perez called his role as "optimist in chief," Obama added: "The good news is that it is entirely within to our power to solve it. The simple message right now is that if people participate and they vote, then this democracy works."
The former president said he believes most Americans don't want "a dog-eat-dog world where everybody is angry all the time." He said that while observing "the other side," he finds it striking that "They're mad even when they win. Have you noticed that? They don't look happy at all."
Obama's remarks came in the midst of an ongoing border crisis in which thousands of children have been separated from parents arrested for attempting to enter the country illegally. It also comes as President Donald Trump and Congress are grappling with the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. He did not mention either storyline Thursday.
Obama did, however, open his remarks by saying he was "heartbroken" about the shooting in Annapolis earlier in the day.
"I am hopeful that each time one of these tragedies strikes we remind ourselves that this is preventable. It's not inevitable," he said. "That America is not the only nation on Earth that has people who are troubled or violent, but we are unique in the weapons that those people can deploy. And it's costly."
The event was held at the home of Allan Mutchnik, an executive of Harbor Freight Tools, and his wife, Nicole. They have been major donors to Democratic candidates and causes, and gave tens of thousands of dollars to a committee benefiting Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016.
Tickets started at $2,700 to attend the discussion and see a musical performance by Christina Aguilera. Top donors who paid $100,000 received five dinner tickets, a photo with Obama, membership to the DNC finance committee and other perks.
It was a rare post-presidency appearance for Obama, who has kept a low profile and made few public appearances since leaving the White House. In March, he came to the Golden State to raise money for Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri.
He will continue his California fundraising swing Friday, where he will appear at $10,000-per-person fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the Bay Area suburb of Atherton.
