Former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris were present at Hamilton College on Thursday to remark on the state of the nation during a second Trump term.
Former President Barack Obama did not mince his words when he condemned President Donald Trump’s policies amid the sweeping reciprocal tariffs that have plunged the stock market and spurred global trade wars.
During a Thursday appearance at Hamilton College to remark on the state of the nation, Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris were critical of the second Trump term, with Obama denouncing Trump’s cuts to the federal government, sweeping immigration crackdown, as well as animosity towards the media and legal establishments, CNN reported.
“So, this is the first time I’ve been speaking publicly for a while,” Obama said, adding that he has been “watching for a little bit.” Another eight word comment summed up something many Americans feel: “Imagine if I had done any of this,” the Democrat said.
He added: “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.”
Trump’s new tariffs have plunged Wall Street into chaos as nearly $2.5 trillion has been wiped off the markets. With China poised to levy 34% retaliatory tariffs on all American imports, economists fear the new tariff policy to plunge the country into further inflation that will ultimately hurt the American people, especially low-income households and elderly people on fixed income.
Obama said that Trump’s new tariffs will not be good for the United States, adding that he is concerned about the White House’s crackdown on free speech and 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.
“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. Those kinds of – that kind of behavior is contrary to the basic compact we have as Americans,” he added.
Obama, who preceded Trump during his first term in 2016, always forewarned about the perils facing the nation if Trump were to be re-elected during the 2024 presidential campaign.
At the time, he said, “Just because [Trump] acts goofy doesn’t mean his presidency won’t be dangerous.”
Harris, who had echoed similar sentiments yet lost to Trump in the election race, said that Trump’s actions were far from unpredictable, acknowledging the “great sense of fear” among individuals and organizations the current administration has managed to sow.
At the Leading Women Defined Summit, Harris said, “There were many things we knew would happen. I’m not here to say I told you so.”
However, just like her speech conceding defeat to Trump in November, Harris seemed hopeful.
“Fear has a way of being contagious. When one person has fear, it has a way of spreading to those around them and spreading. And we are witnessing that, no doubt,” she said, adding, “But I say this also, my dear friends, courage is also contagious.”
