Summary

Barack Obama sharply criticized Donald Trump’s presidency during a speech at Hamilton College, condemning attacks on the press, immigration crackdowns, and threats to civil liberties.

He called it “unimaginable” that Trump’s actions—such as barring the AP and threatening law firms—would have been tolerated under past presidents.

Obama warned that Trump’s behavior, though “goofy,” poses real danger, and he labeled Trump a “wannabe dictator.”

He also referenced former Trump aide John Kelly’s “fascist” remark and urged Americans not to mistake chaos for leadership.

  • grue@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    54
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    22 hours ago

    he labeled Trump a “wannabe dictator.”

    Sure wish Democrats would quit downplaying the threat.

    • Boddhisatva@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      11 hours ago

      Exactly. I just posted this in another thread…

      • He is setting tariffs on his own, a power designated solely to Congress by the Constitution.

      • He is having masked police kidnap people off the streets without warrants and shipping them to an overseas gulag without trial or even charges.

      • He is illegally refusing to distribute money allocated by Congress to certain states in order to punish them for not doing his bidding.

      • And when the courts have ordered him to stop doing the above, he has willfully ignored those court orders with no repercussions.

      Exactly what more needs to happen for this to be a dictatorship?

      • CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        11 hours ago

        These are just the things we know about. God knows else gets blocked internally, doesn’t hit the news or doesn’t pick up media traction.

    • ripcord@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      ·
      15 hours ago

      I agree. It’s absolutely fucking infuriating.

      “Aggressively and rapidly installing himself as a dictator” would still be understating a bit.