In rare public appearances on Thursday, former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris delivered pointed rebukes of President Donald Trump’s administration, warning that recent policy decisions and rhetoric from the White House are undermining democratic norms and contributing to a climate of fear.
The remarks—delivered in separate venues—mark some of the most direct criticism either figure has offered since the 2024 election.
Speaking at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, Obama denounced what he described as a disturbing pattern of behavior from Trump’s second-term administration, including the imposition of new tariffs, threats against academic institutions, and pressure tactics aimed at law firms.
“I don’t think what we just witnessed in terms of economic policy and tariffs is going to be good for America,” Obama said. “But 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.”
He continued, “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.’ That kind of behavior is contrary to the basic compact we have as Americans.”
Obama also took aim at the administration’s foreign policy posture, accusing it of dismantling the post-World War II international order. He mocked recent White House statements about seeking control of Greenland for national security purposes.
“In the last two months, we have seen a U.S. government actively try to destroy that [rules-based] order and discredit it,” he said. “The thinking, I gather, is that since we are the strongest, we can just bully people into doing whatever we want. And if we see a piece of land, be like, ‘who’s going to stop us? Greenland looks good.’”
Obama emphasized that his critique was not partisan, but rooted in a broader concern for democratic values. “This has to do with something more precious,” he said. “Who are we as a country, and what values do we stand for?”
Meanwhile, at the Leading Women Defined Summit in California, Harris warned that the administration’s actions are rolling back hard-won progress and fueling a dangerous atmosphere of intimidation.
“What has changed is that there is a sense of fear that has been taking hold in our country,” Harris said. “We are seeing people stay quiet. We are seeing organizations capitulate to clearly unconstitutional threats.”
While drawing applause and laughter with a brief nod to her earlier warnings about Trump, Harris’s tone grew more serious as she urged attendees to resist despair.
“Fear has a way of being contagious,” she said. “But courage is also contagious.”
Though Harris did not discuss her future plans—amid speculation that she may run for governor of California—her remarks carried the weight of a potential return to public life.
In response to the critiques, White House spokesman Kush Desai issued a sharp rebuttal, accusing both Obama and Harris of hypocrisy.
“During her time in office, Kamala Harris presided over the weaponization of our justice system, the coercion of social media companies to censor free speech, and the wholesale destruction of our economy and borders,” Desai said in a statement to ABC News.
He added: “Neither she nor Barack Obama, who wrote off worker layoffs by saying ‘some of those jobs of the past are just not going to come back,’ are in any position to weigh in on the merits or constitutionality of the Trump administration’s historic action to put Americans and America First.”
The rare one-two punch from Obama and Harris signals a growing chorus of high-profile voices questioning the direction of Trump’s second term, even as the White House remains steadfast in its defense of recent initiatives.
