Former president Barack Obama spoke out against Donald Trump’s administration in a highly critical tirade signalling the end of their supposed ‘bromance’.
The 63-year-old took aim at the Republican leader’s crackdown on law firms, press freedoms and free speech in universities, breaking his silence on what he described as an ‘unimaginable’ presidency.
Obama also claimed Trump’s imposition of import taxes – which saw the FTSE 100 suffer its sharpest drop since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic – is not ‘going to be good for America’.
Trump’s 10% tariff on UK products has also seen nearly £175 billion wiped off the UK stock market in just a week – hammering the pensions and savings of millions.
Obama warned Trump’s presidency could be ‘dangerous’, adding had been acting like a ‘wannabe dictator running around trying to punish his enemies’.
Addressing students at Hamilton College on Thursday, Obama said: ‘Imagine if I had done any of this.’
‘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’s comments come just months after he and Trump were seen sharing a moment of laughter at Jimmy Carter’s funeral, which viewers claimed was a clear show of affection between former political opponents.
‘I just want to be clear about this,’ Obama continued in his speech to students.
‘Imagine if I had pulled Fox News’ credentials from the White House press corps. You’re laughing, but this is what’s happening.’
‘Imagine if I had said to law firms that were representing parties that were upset with policies my administration had initiated, that you will not be allowed into government buildings,’ he continued.
‘We will punish you economically for dissenting from the Affordable Care Act or the Iran deal. We will ferret out students who protest against my policies,’ Obama added.
The Trump administration has barred the Associated Press from participating in the press pool over the organization’s refusal to use the president’s preferred ‘Gulf of America.’
AP remains credentialed, but the White House has also taken over who can participate in the daily pool, adding podcasters and conservative influencers.
The Trump administration has also gone after law firms – using executive orders – who were involved in some of the cases that the president refers to as a ‘witchhunt.’
‘When I watch some of what’s going on now, it does not look, 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 continued.
‘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,’ the former Democratic president said.
‘I am more troubled by 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”.
‘That kind of behavior is contrary to the basic compact we have as Americans.
‘Just because (Trump) acts goofy, doesn’t mean his presidency won’t be dangerous.
‘We do not need four years of a wannabe king, a wannabe dictator running around trying to punish his enemies.
‘What I can’t understand is why anyone would think that Donald Trump will shake things up in a way that is good for you. Because there is absolutely no evidence that this man thinks about anybody but himself.’
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