From The Final Call Newspaper

The Louis Farrakhan- Alex Jones Interview: A Search For Truth And Opening A Dialogue?

By Richard B. Muhammad - Editor | Last updated: Jan 21, 2016 - 11:43:16 AM

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• Watch Minister Farrakhan's Full Interview with Alex Jones

Min. Farrakhan and Alex Jones at the Minister’s home in Phoenix. Photo: Richard B. Muhammad

PHOENIX—When a message needs to reach an audience, the basic question is what vehicle can carry the message? When the messenger is the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and the audience is White America, the audience desired and vehicle chosen might at first seem strange.


But with Americans dissatisfied with government, rising racial hostility, simmering anger, fear and rising conservatism, what’s needed is a microphone manned by someone who taps that audience.

And in that equation, Alex Jones of infowars.com becomes perhaps a proper vehicle. Often called America’s leading conspiracy theorist and a self-described Libertarian, Mr. Jones speaks to millions each week and is seen by many Whites as an alternative to mainstream media and someone who speaks his mind—whether others agree or not.

Last year Mr. Jones put out a video asking questions about statements attributed to Min. Farrakhan following a speech in Miami and asking for an interview. Passionately speaking Min. Farrakhan had declared that if the federal government would not intercede as Blacks are slaughtered in the streets, Blacks would eventually be forced to stalk and kill their murderers.

Right-wing and other media went insane declaring that Minister Farrakhan had called for 10,000 Blacks to stalk and kill White people.

Months after the request and almost four months after the highly successful Justice Or Else! gathering in Washington, D.C., which some estimates say drew 800,000 to 1.5 million people to the National Mall, the Minister and Mr. Jones sat down for a 90-minute interview and opened a dialogue.

When Mr. Jones asked why he agreed to the interview, the Minister explained there is value to “the idea of dialogue, truthful dialogue, that gets us past the media manipulation of persons, events, and the truths of persons and events.”

“I’ve been talking to Black people for 60 or more years and Black people understand me pretty well. But White people don’t know me and may not understand me,” he said. “Now, Black people I know because I’m Black and I come up from among my people. But to have a chance now to speak to a White audience, mainly who may be conservative in their culture, thoughts and desires, and for me to be able to represent the Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad to that group and answer questions that they are interested in hearing a truthful answer to.”

In the highly respectful exchange between Mr. Jones and Min. Farrakhan, prompted by questions from the interviewer, the subjects of conspiracy, the shadow government ruling America, the country’s future, God’s special desire and plan to use Black people to build a new reality, abortion, U.S. policy in the Middle East, presidential politics and Donald Trump and God’s judgement against America were some of the topics covered.

“We’re two people that live in the greatest nation on this earth but the nation is not now what it could be if truth unfettered would be given to the American people and perhaps through this dialogue that might happen,” said Min. Farrakhan early in the interview Jan. 4 at the home of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in Phoenix.

Alex Jones, host of infowars.com, sits with Min. Farrakhan. Photo: Richard B. Muhammad

The interview was fraught with warnings about the tenor of American politics and how if it degenerates it diminishes America’s stature, and a clear warning from the Minister that no political hopeful will be successful unless the candidate deals forthrightly with justice for Blacks in America and the indigenous people of this nation.


“The one thing that’s missing in the dialogue, even with Mr. Trump, nobody’s talking about the future of Black people, the future of the Indigenous, the Native Americans. This country, the original sin of America, is the destruction over 120 million native people,” said Min. Farrakhan.

“Millions of us were brought out of Africa, not to be citizens but to be made burden bearers of the real citizens. So our sweat and our blood made America rich so that immigrants could come over and find the American dream on our nightmare.

“So if Mr. Trump, and I believe he’s bold enough, if he knew how much God is interested in the future of Black people; not that (God’s) not interested in the future of ‘all people,’ but he’s interested in the future of Black people for this reason. … Black people, no matter what we have suffered up to this very moment, we have never been spies for any foreign government against America. We have never risen up as a force against the tyranny that has been imposed on us by our government. We have fought in every war from the Revolutionary War all the way up to the last war that there was in the Gulf.

“We have a heart, Mr. Jones, of forgiveness. A heart that today we can love those who have done us so much evil. So God wants to use us,” he said.

But Min. Farrakhan added, citing the words of his teacher, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, America is under divine judgment wracked by unusual weather destroying lives and property. The United States is reaping what she has sown for the murder and oppression of Blacks and the indigenous people and God himself is punishing America, he said.

The weather will continue to get worse and this is a dangerous time, the Minister added.
Then there was discussion of the impact of U.S. foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, which could bring America to total destruction by triggering a final global war if a “President Trump” decides to engage in “thuggish” behavior and take Iraq’s oil as promised in campaign speeches or if America goes toe-to-toe with ISIS.

“It’s a horrible war that my teacher taught us of and I got to say my teacher again is the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. I believe him to be a messenger of God. I believe that God raised him as a warner to America,” said Min. Farrakhan.

Stealing resources and Middle East regime change are right out of the playbook of the neo-cons who surrounded President G.W. Bush and almost brought the country to ruin and neo-cons who surround President Obama as a conflict between U.S. ally Saudi Arabia and U.S. opponent Iran simmers, he said. “This thing is leading to great war now and America, ISIS says, ‘come on over.’ And America says, ‘We got to put boots on the ground.’ No, you’ll put boots under the ground if you’re foolish to jump into that fray. Because the number one tyrant is not Russia, the number one tyrant is right here. So everything is moving to bring this house down and what’s happening is it’s coming down from within like ancient Rome and Babylon but war will bring it to an end,” warned Min. Farrakhan.

The Minister agreed with Mr. Jones that an evil and powerful minority is trying to drive humanity to the brink, regardless of race or religion and looks to create, foment, exploit and benefit from conflict and strife. These “globalists” are only loyal to themselves and have people fighting one another while they claim everything, argued Mr. Jones.

Mr. Jones has major detractors for criticism of the Black Lives Matter Movement and when a heavily armed group of Whites came to Ferguson, Mo., last summer, some carrying AR-15 rifles, they said they came to protect an infowars.com reporter. Many also take exception to Mr. Jones vehement attacks on President Obama and accuse him of right-wing racism. Some feel content he airs stirs the racial pot.

Mr. Jones insisted the only racism he has seen expressed against Blacks has come from liberals and Whites and Blacks in politics who don’t want the Black masses.

“And if you want to know where the White devils are, Minister Louis Farrakhan, I can tell you right now they run the Democratic Party, 100 percent, and they’ve got Black people in their web murdering your people and they love it and they think that people don’t see them. Well, I see them I know who they are and I don’t care what color a baby is. My soul won’t allow me to hate somebody because of what color they are because I know I’ll be destroyed if I ever go that direction. And so that’s why I stand and that’s why I wanted to have this meeting with you because you already tell people a lot of great things; and I know you reach tens of millions,” said Mr. Jones.

He asked the Minister if it was possible to overcome the “tribal” differences that seem to dominate humanity.

“I see myself subconsciously using race, using race, using Balkanization, even when I cover it because even though I’m a truthful person, my flesh likes it and wants to do it. And I see Black people doing the same thing and every other group and all the folks that have come together. People that are against those that aren’t obsessed with video games or people that are against those that aren’t into sports, whatever,” he said. “All these divisions, how do we beat that? How do we not play down that destructive road?”

“First of all, we have to understand nature. God says in the Qur’an, ‘I created you into tribes and families that you may know one another.’ Well, your tribe is not my tribe but if I do not have enough sense to be to my tribe a person that would suffice the needs of my tribe, then I’m not being true to who I am; but I’m called on to grow. And it’s in the process of growth where we have fallen down,” Min. Farrakhan explained.

“So now I have to look out for Black people. I mean that’s my love but that’s not all that there is to me because I have grown and I love humanity now; but if I’m not true to my own people and their needs, you cannot trust me to be true to you. So the first thing Jesus said, the greatest law, ‘Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength,’ and the second one is like unto that, ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ In America, we have never been taught to love us,” the Minister said.

From The Final Call Newspaper

Min. Farrakhan: More suffering, greater divine chastisement in 2016

By Richard B. Muhammad - Editor | Last updated: Jan 12, 2016 - 11:40:17 AM



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(L) Cheryl Turek, of Nevada, Texas, right, hugs Evelyn Lindstrom in front of Lindstrom's destroyed home in Copeville, Texas, after heavy rain, high winds and tornados swept through North Texas the previous night, on Dec. 27, 2015. (R) Volunteers help residents clear debris from their damaged homes on Trishia Lane, Jan. 2, in Glenn Heights, Texas. At least 11 people died and dozens were injured in the tornadoes that swept through the Dallas area, Dec. 26, 2015.


PHOENIX—In an exclusive interview, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan dealt with events from 2015, their implications for 2016 and offered words of guidance on how to navigate perilous times. Among his subjects were the Obama administration, growing unrest around the globe, the Justice Or Else! march and movement, God’s judgement against America, and the 2016 presidential election and candidates.

While there have been failures to indict police officers in the deaths of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Sandra Bland in Texas and other deaths that have fed the Black Lives Matter Movement, divine retribution is striking America, said Min. Farrakhan in an interview with Final Call editor Richard B. Muhammad from the home of the Nation of Islam’s patriarch, the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, in the valley of the sun.

Last year was the worst on record for severe weather and 2016 started similarly, the Minister noted. These serious weather events—unusual rain and flooding, fires on the West Coast, tornadoes, earthquakes, mudslides—are a divine “whipping” America has earned mainly for her enslavement of Blacks and the destruction of the Native peoples, he said.

As the Hon. Elijah Muhammad taught for 40 years, America must reap the consequences for her evils and the weather is God’s weapon against the enemies of a people, Blacks and Native Americans, that God has chosen for his own, the Minister stressed. The Jan. 6 interview was nearly an hour-long.
Increased mistreatment and killing of Blacks, as their cries for justice fall on deaf ears, is to force Black people to consider and accept what God wants, which is their separation from White America, Min. Farrakhan said. The weather will get worse and mistreatment will worsen in 2016, he said.

“We have to gird up our loins and come closer in unity with God, with the truth and with each other and we have to be busy now doing that which will prepare us for the long road to justice and the land of our own,” said Min. Farrakhan.

The 20th anniversary of the Million Man March, held October 10, 2015, was inspired by Elijah Muhammad’s words and is “the beginning of a long road to justice,” he said.

The theme, “Justice Or Else!,” frightened many, in particular some older people, but drew young people to the Nation’s Capital with numbers estimated between 800,000 to 1.5 million people. The real “Or Else!” is God Himself, as foretold of in Biblical scripture, the Minister said.

The anger all over the earth spoken of in Revelations in the Bible is playing out today—from concern over North Korea’s reported detonation of a hydrogen bomb to rising conflict between Saudi Arabia, and some allies, and the Islamic Republic of Iran—and beyond, he pointed out.
The Saudi-Iran conflict could bathe the region in blood, warned Min. Farrakhan.
Anger is rising globally as “the masses cry for justice and real change so revolution is building everywhere,” he explained.



Iranian demonstrators burn a representation of the U.S. and Israeli flags during a demonstration in front of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Tehran, Iran, to protest the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent opposition Shiite cleric, seen in posters, Jan. 3. Saudi Arabia announced the execution of al-Nimr on Jan. 5 along with 46 others. Al-Nimr was a central figure in protests by Saudi Arabia's Shiite minority until his arrest in 2012, and his execution drew condemnation from Shiites across the region. Photo: AP/Wide World photos

While time and dispassionate analysts will assess the Obama presidency and assign a place in history, the tenure of America’s first Black president started with much hope but was sidetracked by advisors tied to the status quo and a shadow government that wields real power, said Min. Farrakhan.

But, he continued, “I would not want to be pharaoh at the time of the fall of Egypt.” America fits the prophetic description of Egypt contained in scripture and Blacks fit the prophetic picture of the children of Israel. Those who selected the president before his election knew his brilliance and goodness but primarily wanted to deceive Blacks into thinking there is a place for them inside America, commented Min. Farrakhan. The president inspired hope for change at home and aboard coming into office and reaching out to the Muslim world with an important speech in Egypt and was welcomed in Germany and Europe following a loss in confidence in America as President Bush left office, he noted.

But with America on the brink of economic collapse, the president was surrounded by some of the Wall St. bankers and others who wrecked the U.S. economy and after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize continued the neo-conservative plan for regime change in the Middle East and perpetual war has followed, said Min. Farrakhan.

“He ignited the hope of the whole world in a change that they and we would believe in. But I don’t think our brother really understood the shadow government that manipulates the elected government,” he said. But the Minister said, the political ascension of Barack Obama showed Black, Native American and Latino children they could be world rulers and more than just highly paid athletes.

The plight of Blacks and America’s indigenous people has been missing from discourse and focus in the 2016 presidential election, said Min. Farrakhan. That omission doesn’t bode well for the country, he warned.



People stand by after a rollover accident along Interstate 25 northbound just south of Albuquerque, N.M., Dec. 26, 2015. A flurry of snow began to blanket Albuquerque, Santa Fe and other cities amid warnings of a record-setting blizzard being on the horizon. Photos: AP/Wide World photos

“The wrath of God that has entered America is not just because of what America has done to others, which is much. But it’s what America has done to Black people and Native people and God has chosen us out of the furnace of affliction to be his people. And if we are not considered none of them can save America from the wrath of God,” said the Minister.

“If any of these candidates would even consider separation, God would show them you are on the right course to save America from his wrath. But until you think about us and put justice for us in the equation your suffering will intensify on a greater level in 2016 and 2017 may bring the end of you, America, as a power, completely in the world.”

Black America must also stop trying to force itself on Whites and make Black neighborhoods decent places to live, the Minister said. Blacks live as a colonized people with police officers deployed as an occupying army to maintain control, not a force designed to preserve and protect, he said.

But, the Minister said, once Black neighborhoods are cleaned up, White officers don’t need to be deployed, Black people will be able to police themselves and young people can be properly trained to do that. Police training isn’t the problem; it is how officers treat Black people and retraining won’t solve the problem, Min. Farrakhan said.

Saviours’ Day 2016, the annual Nation of Islam convention, will be in Detroit and the Minister invited those ready to work to participate. His February keynote address will deal with “Divine Instructions and Commands” for 2016 and using the wisdom of God to make Black communities safe, clean and decent.

Those ready to do the real work of cleaning up our community meet me in Detroit, bring your scholarship and your desires, “for this may very well be my last Saviours’ Day among you,” Min. Farrakhan said.

From The Final Call Newspaper

A look back at Obama in 2015 and what’s ahead in 2016

By Askia Muhammad -Senior Editor- | Last updated: Jan 5, 2016 - 3:17:32 PM

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama join hands with Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. As they lead the walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches, in Selma, Ala., March 7. Photo: Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson

WASHINGTON - Despite a long list of major political victories in 2015—normalizing relations with Cuba, the Iran nuclear agreement, the international climate change protocol agreements; and domestically defending Obamacare and turning around the failing economy—many “friends” feel President Barack Obama’s performance last year was mediocre.

resident Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and First Lady Akie Abe depart the State Arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, April 28, 2015. Photo: Official White House Photo/ David Lienemann

And as the first Black president enters his final year in office, many are unsure of what will happen, except that the GOP will continue its rabid opposition and that on the way out, presidents typically speak more boldly on some issues.

For his own part however, after seven years of brushing aside complaints from his staunchest supporters that race-hatred may be at the root of some of his most ardent opponents, Mr. Obama now admits that some of the most deep-seated hostility to his presidency and his policies is rooted in racial bias deep in the heart of the Republican Party.

“No politician, I think, aspires to 100 percent approval ratings,” the President told NPR’s Steven Inskeep in an interview which aired on Dec. 21. Mr. Obama was asked if he understood why some Americans are fearful about the direction in which he has led the country.


(Top Photo) President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden hold a multilateral meeting with West African leaders regarding Ebola, in the Cabinet Room of the White House, April 15, 2015. Seated across from the President, from left, are President Alpha Conde of Guinea; Amara Konneh, Minister of Finance, Liberia; President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia; Julia Duncan Cassell, Minister of Gender and Development, Liberia and President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone. (Bottom Photo) President Barack Obama meets with My Brother’s Keeper mentees during lunch in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Feb. 27, 2015.

“If you are referring to specific strains in the Republican Party that suggest that somehow I’m different, I’m Muslim, I’m disloyal to the country, etc., which unfortunately is pretty far out there and gets some traction in certain pockets of the Republican Party, and that have been articulated by some of their elected officials, what I’d say there is that that’s probably pretty specific to me and who I am and my background, and that in some ways I may represent change that worries them.”
Mr. Obama accused Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump of exploiting anger and fear over economic insecurities among working class White men to propel his presidential campaign. “There’s going to be the potential for anger, frustration, fear—some of it justified but just misdirected. I think somebody like Mr. Trump’s taking advantage of that. That’s what he’s been exploiting during the course of his campaign.”

The very successes of the first Black president over the span of his first seven years in office may be the source of even more frustration for right-wingers and race haters. “That’s part of the American experience,” Mr. Obama said. “Pick any decade and this question’s been wrestled with. This has been true since the founding.”

The perception of Mr. Obama’s performance is also compounded among Black observers because he’s never been the openly “Brother President.” It’s very difficult to grade him, “because President Obama is merely the chairman of the board of the executive committee of the U.S. ruling elite,” Dr. Gerald Horne, who holds the Moore’s chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston, told The Final Call.

“Anyone who’s chaired a meeting knows, you either express the will of the body or you resign, or you’re ousted. So it’s difficult to evaluate President Obama, apart from an evaluation of the ultimate rulers of the United States of America.”



(Top Photo) President Barack Obama participates in a counterterrorism threat briefing at the National Counterterrorism Center in McLean, Va., Dec. 17. (Bottom Photo) President Barack Obama tours the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center in Arlington, Va., Jan. 13, 2015. He is accompanied by Dr. Phyllis Schneck, Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity & Communications, and Brig. Gen. Greg Touhill, (Ret.), Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity Operations and Programs. Photos: Official White House Photo/Pete Souza

Dr. Wilmer Leon, a political scientist and host of “Inside the Issues,” heard on Sirius-XM Satellite Radio agrees. “For 2015, I guess, I’d give him a ‘B,’ overall I’d give him a ‘C-plus’ up through this point of his administration,” Dr. Leon told The Final Call.

However, “if I were evaluating him strictly as an African American and looking at the needs of the African American community, the grades would be much different. I’ve had to recalibrate my assessment, because he’s the president of the United States, he’s a functionary of the United States government.”

Despite the obstacles in his path from a unified Republican opposition which set out from Inauguration Day 2009 to cause this president to fail, Mr. Obama was able to notch several victories. “He got substantive things done that were very heavy lifts and very much in opposition to conservative interests,” Dr. Leon continued, “one being the deal with Cuba where he has reopened the embassy with Cuba. He is in the process of normalizing relations with Cuba. I think the Iran nuclear deal is another very, very big accomplishment.

“The reason I think those things are significant is because there was and there continues to be incredible opposition from conservatives, from the Republican Party. He did something he normally doesn’t do, which is (to) stand tough against opposition, articulate clearly why what he’s trying to accomplish is important and in spite of those headwinds, he leaned into those headwinds and got it done.”

Progressive analysts universally praise the normalization with Cuba and the Iran nuclear deal, even when they have nothing else good to say about the Obama presidency. “There have been some extremely positive developments from the Obama administration, and that is the Iran nuclear deal and the Cuba opening,” Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink Voices for Peace said in an interview. “These were both done despite tremendous opposition, especially around Iran, and Obama pushed forward, so on that I think we should be very thankful.”

“I would rate him highly with regard to his approach to Cuba,” said Dr. Horne, “and with regard to the nuclear deal with Iran; with regard to climate change which is one of the most pressing issues on planet earth right now. So, overall, I would give him a mixed evaluation.”
Veteran political analyst and statistician Dr. David Bositis had mostly good things to say if he had to evaluate the Obama presidency. “Pretty good grades, a lot of positive things this year,” Dr. Bositis told The Final Call. “The agreement with Iran, the opening up with Cuba. The economy still has some problems, but on the other hand it is continuing to grow.

“The unemployment rate is going down. Starting on January 1st there will be a lot of increases in the minimum wage. There’s been a lot of discussion and a lot of movement, which Obama has been a part of adjusting the criminal justice process. The climate change agreement was a big deal. So there have been a lot of positive things,” said Dr. Bositis.


(Top Photo) President Barack Obama shakes hands with President Raúl Castro of Cuba during the Summit of the Americas at the Atlapa Convention Center in Panama City, Panama, April 11, 2015. (Bottom Photo) President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama walk with King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia at Erga Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 27, 2015.

“Also, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and people who were formerly uninsured are continuing to get insurance. He was able to withstand court challenges to the Affordable Care Act,” Dr. Leon added.

But with the rise of fear in Washington and other Western capitals over barbaric acts committed in the name of the Islamic State—or ISIS, or ISIL, of Da’esh—Mr. Obama’s approval ratings have descended quickly.

“Oh, I would grade him as a ‘C-minus,’ particularly because I focus a lot on foreign policy issues,” said Ms. Benjamin, “and we’re still at war, perpetually. His whole administration has been war after war, and now we’re getting deeper into the wars he was supposed to have gotten us out of.”

But instead of succumbing to right-wing rhetoric which seeks a U.S. military solution to each and every international crisis, Mr. Obama should follow another course, according to Ms. Benjamin. “I wish we would maybe use Jeremy Corbin, the head of the Labor Party in the U.K. as our barometer for what a good politician’s position would be.

“He has constantly been of the opinion that the presence of foreign troops in the Middle East is a cause of continued violence, and there will never be an end to the wars as long as foreign military presence exists. So, if you look at the Obama administration’s record: he said he was going to get us out of Afghanistan, and then decided ‘No, can’t leave there, 10,000 remaining troops; he’s been fighting a war with Pakistan, low-key with drones; Libya war has been a disaster, absolute chaos there; Yemen, one (conflict) he said was a good example of U.S. military involvement, now, not only is there al-Qaeda, and ISIS in Yemen, but the good friend of ours, Saudis, are creating a humanitarian disaster in the whole country; Somalia seems to be a disaster with U.S. intervention; Iraq, well you know, who needs to talk about that; so that we destroyed that country; and then Syria; so, seven countries that Obama’s administration has been involved in militarily, and all (are) in terrible shape,” she said.

The Middle East quagmire is not going to be solved soon by any U.S. political leader, according to Dr. Bositis. “There is ISIS, but the fact of the matter is that (neither) Obama, nor any other political leader is going to control what happens in the short term, in Syria. It will eventually play itself out. It’s looking more and more like all the parties are getting bled.

“Obama was elected and promised when he was elected, that he was not going to be George Bush,” Dr. Bositis continued. “And so, by and large, he’s fulfilled that promise of not being George Bush. He’s raised taxes on the wealthy. Under his watch, the economy has clearly turned around from being the catastrophe it was in the spring of 2009 to where it is now.

“From initial missteps on foreign policy matters, I think on balance, he’s been more of a plus than he’s been a minus. We can point to a number of things that he’s done that have been positive things,” he continued. “Remember, ever since Obama was elected president, the Republicans have opposed everything he has wanted to do. They have not supported him. Listen to the Republican candidates, what’s wrong with the United States, what’s wrong with the world, it’s Barack Obama,” they say.

It appears that Mr. Obama’s last year in office will be a trying time. “It appears as though 2016, with the rise of quote-unquote ‘terrorism’ he could very well get consumed with what’s happening in Syria,” according to Dr. Leon, “what’s happening in Mali and some of the other African countries, not to mention this increase in domestic terrorism, so he could very well be consumed by terrorism in 2016.”

“I think Obama’s a reluctant warrior,” said Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin. “I think he doesn’t have the strength to really come out forcefully and say that the crisis in the Middle East dates back to the illegal mobilization of Iraq; that getting the U.S. military out of the Middle East is the best thing that can be done; that we need to put pressure on our ally Turkey to stop the recruits, and the money and the oil going back and forth to ISIS; and put pressure on our friends the Saudis—and I would say cut those friendly Saudi ties—so that we can actually move toward a policy in the Middle East where we’re not hypocrites, supporting the very country, Saudi Arabia that’s the source of so much of this extremism. “Will he do that? Unfortunately not.”

“There are always things that could happen that are unexpected,” Dr. Bositis predicted. “A war breaks out someplace, or something major breaks out someplace. A member of the Supreme Court retires or dies, there are things that could come up that we don’t know right now that are going to happen or not.

“In terms of his overall agenda, by the time a president gets into his eighth year, he’s not going to be undertaking any real new or major initiatives,” Dr. Bositis said. “My guess is he’s going to be defending, whether vetoing bills or encouraging others to support those positions.

“I think he’ll continue to talk out about the criminal justice system. I think he’ll continue to talk about voting rights and some of the problems that happen with voting rights. I also suspect in terms of the bully pulpit, he’ll be a little bit less constrained in his last year in terms of talking about some of the things that have been important to him, but in terms of any big new initiatives, I don’t see that happening. On the other hand, like I said, things can happen. In terms of his reacting to the things that happen, that’s another story since we don’t know what those things might be.”

The president’s final year in office may be dictated by the behavior of his Republican opponents, and the political process to choose his successor. Indeed, the so-called “Trump factor” in the 2016 campaign has breathed new life into the Ku Klux Klan, according to published reports.

In fact, a recent TIME magazine article said Mr. Trump’s words have been used as an “outreach tool” for KKK recruiters.
Indeed, the same rhetoric that frightens Mr. Trump’s critics draws praise from supporters such as former Louisiana politician and KKK Grand Wizard David Duke.

Mr. Duke told The Washington Post that while he has not officially endorsed Mr. Trump, he considers the candidate to be the “best of the lot” at the moment. “I think a lot of what he says resonates with me,” Mr. Duke said.

“The ultimate answer is, if this right wing cabal is to be confronted, you have to have leadership capable of mobilizing constituencies against it,” said Dr. Horne, “and President Obama has not done that. Now once again you could say he has not done that because he was apprehensive about how the right wing cabal would respond to our mobilization. After all, in previous decades they plunged the nation into Civil War, leading to the slaughter of thousands when they saw it being mobilized.”

So, what to expect from the White House in 2016 “is a very difficult question to answer,” Dr. Horne concluded.

“Well, one can only hope. One can hope that given the fact that he has only 12 months left in his term, and given the fact that there is a tendency as the example of Jimmy Carter suggests, for U.S. presidents to become more progressive once they are losing the reins of power.

“So one can hope that he will move in a more progressive direction in 2016, but the problem is of course, once again this right wing rebellion from the White grassroots, as symbolized by Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. It’s a very dangerous phenomenon. It does not bode well. One of the things we know thus far about President Obama, is that not only he, but many of the liberals that back him, are very reluctant to take head-on this White-right. And that does not bode well, even after Obama leaves office.”