Obama tells Belfast crowd ‘we can do better than we’re doing right now’

Read the original at Evening Standard ↗
Evening Standard · collected 2026-10-13 · by Claudia Savage

Quick Summary

During his visit to Belfast, former US President Barack Obama accepted an honorary doctorate from Queen’s University and addressed a crowd at the O2 arena, where he discussed democracy, press freedom, and the Middle East. In response to questions about hope and peace, Obama emphasized the importance of seeing humanity's potential for kindness despite societal flaws and expressed concern over recent political changes in Israel impacting prospects for long-term peace in Gaza and the West Bank.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-13, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

In Belfast on October 13, 2026, former US President Barack Obama addressed a packed O2 arena and received an honorary doctorate from Queen’s University. During the event, he discussed pressing issues like democracy preservation and press freedom. Addressing concerns over recent violence in Israel and Gaza, Obama expressed his view that peace efforts must prioritize relief for Gazans before discussing long-term solutions, highlighting the suffering caused by ongoing conflicts. He emphasized the importance of mutual recognition and kindness among people despite disagreements, referencing the Good Friday Agreement as an example of how imagination can lead to better outcomes. Obama encouraged attendees to “do better than we’re doing right now” and stressed the need for individuals to recognize their flaws and strive for improvement.

Written for “Obama Speech In Belfast” on 2026-10-14, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but all 2 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 77802: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-13

Story

📰 Obama Speech In Belfast
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.

Cite this article

Savage, C. (2026, October 13). Obama tells Belfast crowd ‘we can do better than we’re doing right now’. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/barack-obama-belfast-o2-arena-people-b1300721.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-13 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 4985 article(s) · 41 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 41 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Claudia Savage
22 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 I am going to be willing to recognise my own flaws and consider how I can be better.
🔮 Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant intervened to overturn the Parades Commission decision, saying he had been advised by PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher that allowing the march to go ahead could lead to serious disorder, and potentially “catastrophic” consequences for Stormont and the peace process. Ms O’Neill told MLAs during the debate on Monday evening that a section of political unionism is determined to “drag us back”.
🔮 One of those gathered handed William her phone and asked him to speak to her mother.
🔮 They were greeted by deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly, Belfast mayor Róis-Máire Donnelly and South Belfast MP Claire Hanna, who is also SDLP leader.
🔮 They were greeted by deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly, Belfast mayor Róis-Máire Donnelly and South Belfast MP Claire Hanna, who is also SDLP leader.
🔮 And she said to me, to all of us, ‘you need to be clear, if we’ve got this wrong, if you’ve got it wrong, then I would have to consider my resignation’.
🔮 Officers subsequently told senior members of the institution that they could not have more than 35 people on the hill – as that was a restriction placed on the parade by the commission.
🔮 Officers subsequently told senior members of the institution that they could not have more than 35 people on the hill – as that was a restriction placed on the parade by the commission.
🔮 Officers subsequently told senior members of the institution that they could not have more than 35 people on the hill – as that was a restriction placed on the parade by the commission.
🔮 DUP leader Gavin Robinson claimed “standards have been shattered” and said they will engage with Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant about “how we can go forward when there is such a level of disdain for the simple fundamental democratic principles of society”.
Also by Claudia Savage
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 22 articles by Claudia Savage →

Topics

Gaza Israel Queen’s Queen’s University The Good Friday Agreement

Subjects

Obama PERSON · 5× Gaza GPE · 3× Israel GPE · 3× Queen’s ORG · 2× Belfast GPE · 1× McKay PERSON · 1× Michael Longley’s PERSON · 1× Queen’s University ORG · 1× Susan McKay PERSON · 1× the West Bank GPE · 1×

Narrative

“Right now I think that the the anger, the strengthening of right-wing forces inside of Israel, the settler movement; the constant changing of the facts on the West Bank, the continued suffering that’s taking place in Gaza, and I think the hardening of attitudes inside of Israel after October 7 means that we have to probably work for a genuine cessation of violence and relief for the people of Gaza as a step, then to even talk about the kinds of long-lasting peace that you described earlier, and it pains me, and it should pain everyone,” he said “To witness what happened there, it’s a distillation of us being trapped in history and a tribal, elemental, unforgiving divide that obviously there were times where we saw here in Northern Ireland, we have seen on every continent, and we see we have seen in every race, religion, ethnic group, and it’s a sort of madness once it breaks out.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-13
🔮 I am going to be willing to recognise my own flaws and consider how I can be better.
2026-10-13 · Evening Standard
Obama tells Belfast crowd ‘we can do better than we’re doing right now’ · assertive framing

Claims (21 extracted, 0 hedged)

Earlier in his visit to the city, the former US president also accepted an honorary doctorate from Queen’s University Belfast. asserted
president → accept → Belfast
On Tuesday evening Mr Obama addressed a packed O2 arena in a conversation hosted by writer and journalist Susan McKay, where he talked on a number of issues including the preservation of democracy, press freedom and the situation in the Middle East. asserted
he → address → East
He was asked what hope means to him. asserted
hope → ask → him
Mr Obama said people need to “rediscover what’s the story we tell about how we’re going to live together, and see each other, and recognise each other, and disagree, and yet, still care for each other”. asserted
we → say → other
“The Good Friday Agreement came about not just because of exhaustion and people being weary of violence,” he said. asserted
he → come → violence
“It was also – somebody started imagining something better, and they saw themselves and each other in a different kind of way.” asserted
they → start → way
“I am going to assume the best in people. asserted
I → go → people
I am going to be willing to recognise my own flaws and consider how I can be better. asserted
I → go → flaws
“I’m going to insist that we can do better than we’re doing right now. asserted
we → go → ?
“And there’s something in us that recognises ourselves and others, that has an impulse towards kindness, but also an impulse towards cruelty, and I know which side of that contest I want to be on. asserted
I → ’ → contest
And I will fight for that, even if I don’t always think it’s going to win.” asserted
it → fight → that
Ms McKay read the concluding lines from Michael Longley’s poem “Ceasefire”, and asked what Mr Obama believes can be done to bring peace to the region. asserted
Obama → read → region
He said that he is “not as hopeful as I want to be in the short term” given the “aftermath of what’s happened in Gaza and the nature of political changes that have taken place in Israel”. asserted
that → say → Israel
“Right now I think that the the anger, the strengthening of right-wing forces inside of Israel, the settler movement; the constant changing of the facts on the West Bank, the continued suffering that’s taking place in Gaza, and I think the hardening of attitudes inside of Israel after October 7 means that we have to probably work for a genuine cessation of violence and relief for the people of Gaza as a step, then to even talk about the kinds of long-lasting peace that you described earlier, and it pains me, and it should pain everyone,” he said “To witness what happened there, it’s a distillation of us being trapped in history and a tribal, elemental, unforgiving divide that obviously there were times where we saw here in Northern Ireland, we have seen on every continent, and we see we have seen in every race, religion, ethnic group, and it’s a sort of madness once it breaks out. asserted
it → think → madness
“And the sense of grievance on either side feeds on itself to the point where, ‘I cannot even see that other person’, and it will justify anything.” asserted
it → feed → anything
Earlier on Tuesday, accepting his doctorate at a ceremony at Queen’s, Mr Obama praised Northern Ireland’s progress and challenged the next generation to continue building a peaceful and inclusive future. asserted
Obama → accept → future
He told students at Queen’s: “The Good Friday Agreement is still a shining example of what can happen when people put aside old wounds and choose peace. asserted
people → tell → peace
“But as we have seen in many countries, including in my home country the United States, peace and democracy are not inevitable. asserted
peace → see → country
They have to be chosen, again and again.” asserted
They → have → ?
In his closing remarks, Mr Obama encouraged the Queen’s community to continue demonstrating what is possible through inclusion and ambition. asserted
what → encourage → inclusion
“I want to use this opportunity as an honorary Queen’s graduate to leave you all with a challenge and that is to keep showing the way,” he said. asserted
he → want → way
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