Obama urges resistance to Trump-era crackdowns on academic freedom and civil rights

CLINTON, New York — Former president Barack Obama on Thursday night urged Americans—including academic institutions and law firms—to resist what he described as intimidation tactics by the Trump administration and to be willing to “possibly sacrifice” in defense of democratic principles.

Speaking at Hamilton College in New York, Obama criticized the federal government’s treatment of dissent, warning that the values of free speech, inclusion, and respect for judicial independence are under threat. “It is up to all of us to fix this,” he said, pointing to “the citizen, the ordinary person who says, no, that’s not right.”

Obama also expressed concern about the erosion of the post-World War II international order, which he said was once marked by political disagreements grounded in shared democratic norms. Now, he warned, that foundation is cracking.

While disagreeing with former president Donald Trump’s economic policies—such as sweeping tariffs—Obama said he was more alarmed by what he described as a pattern of retaliation against academic institutions. “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 said.

Obama told the audience that universities may need to prepare to lose federal support to uphold their core values, suggesting they draw from endowments to shield students and staff—if those endowments allow flexibility. “If not, and you’re just being intimidated, well, you should be able to say, that’s why we got this big endowment,” he remarked.

As reported by The Washington Post’s Frances Vinall and Justine McDaniel, the Trump administration last month withdrew $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University. While the funds may be reinstated, the move came after Columbia implemented controversial new protest-related policies, including banning demonstrations in academic buildings and appointing security officers with arrest powers.

As The Wall Street Journal has also detailed, the administration is scrutinizing Harvard and has paused grants to Princeton, while the Education Department investigates over 60 colleges for alleged antisemitism tied to recent student protests—many of which occurred during President Joe Biden’s term. The department has reportedly demanded names and nationalities of some students involved, a rare step in civil rights investigations.

Some international students and scholars involved in pro-Palestinian advocacy have also faced deportation or threats of removal.

Although Obama did not directly mention pro-Palestinian protests or the war in Gaza, he hinted at the broader climate of political cost. “It has been easy during most of our lifetimes to say you are a progressive or say you are for social justice or say you’re for free speech and not have to pay a price for it,” he said. “Now we’re at one of those moments where… you may actually have to do something.”

He also contrasted Trump’s actions with Republican expectations during his own presidency, saying it would have been unthinkable for him to retaliate against legal critics of the Affordable Care Act. Trump, Obama noted, has used executive powers to financially target law firms associated with political opponents.

“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,” Obama said.

“Imagine if I had done any of this. Imagine if I had pulled Fox News’s credentials from the White House press corps,” he added, referencing the Trump administration’s controversial barring of the Associated Press from official events. Although Obama’s administration once blocked Fox News from interviewing an official during his first term, it reversed course following public backlash.

Obama concluded his speech by advocating for inclusivity and equal treatment, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. “I know that these days, the idea of inclusion has somehow been deemed illegal, but you know what? I believe in it,” he said.