Barack Obama has finally spoken out about the actions of President Donald Trump, and he’s not happy with what he’s seeing. After staying mostly quiet for years, the former president used a recent speech at Hamilton College in New York to express his concerns about Trump’s behavior.
Obama didn’t hold back, criticizing the Trump administration for its efforts to reduce the role of the federal government, deport protesters, target immigrants, and undermine the press. He also pointed out that Trump’s actions are ones that many wouldn’t have tolerated from previous presidents.
“It’s unimaginable that the same parties that are silent now would have tolerated behavior like that from me, or a whole bunch of my predecessors,” Obama said.
He added that, even though it’s been a while since he publicly spoke out, he’s been paying close attention to what’s happening.
“Imagine if I had done any of this,” Obama said. “Imagine I had pulled Fox News’ credentials from the White House press corps,” he said, referring to Trump’s recent decision to block the Associated Press from the press pool after the outlet refused to use the term “Gulf of America.”
Obama also addressed Trump’s attempts to intimidate lawyers, something he found troubling.
“Imagine if I had said to law firms that were representing parties upset with policies my administration had set, ‘You will not be allowed into government buildings. We will punish you economically for dissenting from the [Affordable Care Act] or the Iran Deal,’” Obama said.
While he expressed concern about Trump’s tariffs potentially harming the economy, Obama said his bigger worry is the way the White House is threatening Americans’ rights.
“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 said.
He also warned about the dangerous implications of the White House targeting law firms that represent people or causes it disagrees with.
“The idea that a White House can say to law firms, ‘If you represent parties that we don’t like, we’re going to pull all our business or bar you from representing people effectively,’” Obama said, “is contrary to the basic compact we have as Americans.”
Obama ended his comments with a warning, saying, “Just because (Trump) acts goofy, doesn’t mean his presidency won’t be dangerous.”
