Bill Cosby ‘disappointed’ in critical Obama supporters

WASHINGTON -- Entertainer Bill Cosby defended President Obama on Sunday, saying that his critics do not acknowledge the obstacles he has faced in office.

“I’m disappointed at people who don’t look at the woes and the trouble given to this man,” Cosby told CNN’s Candy Crowley, referring to allies on the left who have complained about the administration. “People blatantly speaking out against his color, wasting time, starting up new stories about whether or not he was born here, saying things that they can’t prove.”

The actor and comedian said he feels sometimes that opponents want to make Obama’s job like “the one that Sisyphus had.”

“When you see that he made promises and said things and the people who were supposed to be working with him didn’t. The people who were supposed to be working, even for another party, didn’t care about the American people,” he said. “They wanted to get him.”

Nevertheless, he said he is confident the president will win reelection.

“I am more than confident because he knows now who to say no to,” Cosby said. “He knows now who to say, ‘I don’t care what you say, this is going to happen.’ And I believe he is for the people.”

Cosby also said the killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager shot in Florida, underscored the need for stronger gun control measures.

“We, in this country, have got to continue to be out there in the streets about the gun,” he said. “I’m not saying you can’t have it in your homes to protect yourself, because people on drugs really don’t care…. But I also believe that when you tell me that you’re going to protect the neighborhood that I live in, I don’t want you to have a gun. I want you to be able to see something, report it, and get out of the way, because you happen to be a part of the neighborhood. I don’t want you to get hurt. And I don’t want you to hurt anyone.”

matea.gold@latimes.com

Original source: Cosby says disappointed Obama allies need to acknowledge his ‘woes’