'Positive force': Barack Obama praises Marcus Rashford after school meal campaigning

28 May 2021, 06:49

Mr Obama praised Marcus Rashford
Mr Obama praised Marcus Rashford. Picture: Handout/Penguin Random House/PA Media

By Will Taylor

Former US President Barack Obama has praised Marcus Rashford in the wake of his school meals campaigning.

The Manchester United and England footballer took on the UK Government over child food poverty during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Zoom conversation, organised by Penguin Books, was "surreal", Rashford said, having carried it out from his Manchester kitchen.

Mr Obama said: "A lot of the young people I meet - including Marcus - they're ahead of where I was when I was 23.

"They're already making changes and being positive forces in their communities."

Rashford's campaigning led to the Government putting £520 million into a scheme that provided 130 million meals for 1.7 million vulnerable children.

Read more: Marcus Rashford warns of 'devastating' effects of child poverty as he launches new task force

Read more: Marcus Rashford 'grateful' for Boris Johnson free school meal U-turn

'Boris Johnson was warned not to pick a fight with Marcus Rashford'

Boris Johnson congratulates Marcus Rashford for free school meal campaign

The 23-year-old also started a food education and cooking project for youngsters.

The Zoom discussion's topics included giving back to the community and the benefits of reading, among other themes from Mr Obama's memoir, A Promised Land.

The full conversation will be live on YouTube from 2pm on Friday.

Rashford said: "It's quite surreal isn't it? I'm sitting in my kitchen in Manchester, speaking to President Obama. But, immediately, he made me feel at ease.

"It wasn't long before I realised just how aligned our experiences as children were in shaping the men you see today - adversity, obstacles and all.

"I genuinely enjoyed every minute of it. When President Obama speaks, all you want to do is listen."

The forward's influence has become so great that during his explosive testimony to MPs this week, the Prime Minister's ex-adviser Dominic Cummings claimed Mr Johnson was warned not to take on Rashford over the meals issue.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Breaking
Breaking News

Matt Gaetz withdraws as Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general amid sexual misconduct allegations

Donald Trump Watches SpaceX Launch Its Sixth Test Flight Of Starship Spacecraft

Elon Musk pledges to fire civil servants who work from home

Seven-month-old baby mauled to death by family dog after leaning on animal while crawling, inquest hears

Seven-month-old baby mauled to death by family dog sustained 'catastrophic' injuries after leaning on pet, inquest hears

Starmer has backed the International Criminal Court over its arrest warrant for Netanyahu

Starmer backs International Criminal Court after it issues arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu

Five men charged over smuggling of migrants from UK to France in lorries

Five men charged over smuggling of migrants from UK to France in lorries following dawn raids

Rhiannon Skye Whyte was stabbed to death in Walsall

South Sudanese teen accused of murdering asylum seeker hotel worker with screwdriver 'refuses to appear in court'

Will Guyatt questions who is responsible for the safety of children online

Are Zuckerberg and Musk responsible for looking after my kids online?

Simone White has died following a poisoning with alcoholic drinks at a bar in Loas

British lawyer, 28, dies following suspected mass methanol poisoning at bar in Laos

Russia has claimed that Britain is directly involved in the war in Ukraine

Britain now 'directly involved in war in Ukraine', Russian ambassador to UK says

Finlay MacDonald is accused of trying to murder his wife Rowena

Jealous husband 'murdered brother-in-law and tried to kill wife' after finding text saying she planned to leave him

Teenager jailed for least 22 years after fatally stabbing motorbike enthusiast who named attacker in dying breath

Teenager jailed for at least 22 years after fatally stabbing motorbike enthusiast who named attacker in dying breath

Pie fortune heir Dylan Thomas, 24, has been found guilty of murdering his best friend William Bush (R)

Heir to £230m pie fortune found guilty of murdering his best friend on Christmas Eve

Matt Hancock giving evidence at the Covid 19 inquiry

Matt Hancock says government 'got it wrong' with funeral restrictions and visiting dying relatives during pandemic

Body parts - inlcuding arms, legs and a head - belonging to 38-year-old Sarah Mayhew were found in Rowdown Fields in Croydon

Couple facing life in prison after admitting murdering woman and dumping dismembered body parts

'But where are the hams?': Police launch manhunt after thieves steal €200,000 of prized Christmas meat

Police hunt Spanish hamburglars after thieves steal €200,000 of prized Christmas meat

The new advert was published this week.

Rebranded Jaguar sparks further backlash after teasing new car model akin to ‘Tesla Cybertruck’