Barack Obama has publicly criticized President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs, warning they’re unlikely to benefit the American people.
On April 2, President Trump, 78, announced a sweeping round of import duties—including a 10% global baseline tariff and significantly higher rates for 60 countries labeled the U.S.’s “worst offenders.” Among the hardest-hit are Japan (24%), South Africa (30%), and Vietnam (46%).
Trump delivered the news from the White House Rose Garden during what he called “Liberation Day” for American trade. The move sparked strong reactions—and now, former President Barack Obama is weighing in.
Speaking at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, on Thursday (April 4), Obama, 63, addressed the growing economic tension during a conversation with College President Steven Tepper.
“I have deep differences of opinion with my most immediate successor—who’s now president once again,” Obama said, adding that he believes America’s moral and political principles have eroded under Trump’s leadership.
“What we just witnessed in terms of economic policy and tariffs is not going to be good for America,” he said bluntly.
But Obama didn’t stop there. He expressed broader concerns about the direction of the current administration, citing threats to civil liberties and legal institutions.
“I’m more deeply concerned with a federal government that threatens universities if they don’t give up students exercising their right to free speech,” he said.
“Or tells law firms, ‘If you represent clients we don’t like, we’ll pull our business or block you from practicing effectively.’”
Obama then delivered a cutting eight-word remark: “Imagine if I had done any of this?”
He argued that behavior currently tolerated by Trump’s supporters would have been deemed unacceptable if it came from him or previous presidents.
While Obama acknowledged the damage he believes is being done, he emphasized that change won’t come from one leader alone.
“It’s up to all of us to fix this. No one is coming to save us. The most important office in this democracy is not president—it’s citizen.”
The criticism comes as Trump’s new tariffs begin to take effect. The 10% baseline tariff was enacted today (April 5), while the higher, country-specific duties will kick in at 12:01 a.m. on April 9.
According to a White House statement, the tariffs will stay in place until Trump decides the threat from “nonreciprocal treatment and trade deficits” is resolved.
Trump has defended the decision, saying: “For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike.”
Obama, who is currently finishing the second volume of his presidential memoirs, made clear that he sees the country at a turning point—one that citizens, not just politicians, must confront head-on.
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