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Barack Obama has recently shared his growing concerns about the direction the United States is heading under Donald Trump’s leadership, warning that it could be veering away from its democratic foundations.
Since leaving office in early 2017, Obama has mostly stayed out of the public eye, save for occasional appearances. However, he hasn’t shied away from voicing his opinions on Trump’s administration. In the past, he’s commented on several controversial decisions, such as halting federal funding for Harvard and implementing aggressive tariff strategies.
Now, Obama is expressing deeper worries. During a speech on Tuesday evening (June 17) in Hartford, Connecticut, the former President suggested that the country is edging “dangerously close” to becoming an autocracy. In this system, one person holds unchecked power. He pointed out that current developments under Trump’s leadership are “inconsistent with American democracy.”
He cited examples of nations that claim to be democracies but function more like autocracies, referencing Hungary under Viktor Orbán. According to Obama, the U.S. is beginning to mirror those systems where elections occur, but democratic principles such as fair representation, institutional checks and balances, and the rule of law are compromised.
What is an Autocracy?
An autocracy is a system of governance where one individual holds absolute power and is not held accountable by citizens, courts, or the press.
Historically, this has taken the form of emperors or monarchs, and today it manifests as dictatorships or absolute monarchies. In such systems, the public has little to no influence over the laws or their enforcement.
Obama’s Concerns About Trump’s Leadership
Obama warned that the rhetoric and actions coming from the federal government signal a weakened dedication to the democratic values Americans have upheld since World War II. He stated, “If you follow regularly what is said by those who are in charge of the federal government right now, there is a weak commitment to what we understood … as a liberal democracy.”
He argued that some of the behaviors and policies currently seen in the U.S. reflect those found in autocratic regimes. “It is consistent with Hungary under Orbán. It’s consistent with places that hold elections but do not otherwise observe what we think of as a fair system,” he said.
Though he noted that America hasn’t fully become an autocracy, he cautioned, “We are dangerously close to normalizing behavior like that.”
Why Is This Discussion Timely?
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