Former U.S. President, Barack Obama, has sharply criticized recent actions taken by President Donald Trump, warning that key American values are under threat and calling out what he sees as a dangerous silence from the Republican leader.
Obama made the comments during a discussion with Hamilton College President Steven Tepper, where he expressed concern over troubling trends he perceives under Trump’s leadership.
The former President specifically criticized the White House’s decision to revoke The Associated Press’s access to certain West Wing areas after the agency refused to adopt Trump’s term “Gulf of America” in place of the Gulf of Mexico.
Obama voiced his deep concern over various actions by the White House, from cracking down on student protests and universities to pressuring law firms. He argued that such behavior would never have been tolerated from any of his predecessors.
“It’s unimaginable that the same parties that are silent now would have tolerated behavior like that from me or from a whole bunch of my predecessors,” Obama remarked, referring to the Associated Press incident.
He added, “Imagine if I had pulled Fox News’ credentials from the White House press corps. I say this not on a partisan basis. This has to do with something more precious, which is who are we as a country and what values do we stand for?”
Obama also urged Americans, universities, and law firms to be prepared to “possibly sacrifice” in order to defend democratic principles. He called on ordinary citizens to stand up and say, “No, that’s not right.”
While he disagreed with Trump’s sweeping tariffs, Obama expressed greater concern over the administration’s threats to withhold federal funding from universities that do not drop diversity programs or enforce controversial protest regulations.
“I don’t think what we just witnessed in terms of economic policy and tariffs is going to be good for America, but that’s a specific policy,” Obama explained. “I’m more deeply concerned with a federal government that threatens universities if they don’t give up students who are exercising their right to free speech.”
Obama urged universities and students to question whether they had truly broken any rules or were simply being bullied, concluding, “If not, and you’re just being intimidated, well, you should be able to say, ‘That’s why we got this big endowment.’”
