Barack Obama warns the US is 'dangerously close' to becoming an autocracy

20 June 2025, 10:05

Former President Barack Obama has warned the US is “dangerously close” to becoming an autocracy.

Obama, 63, hit out at the Trump administration’s militant response to anti-ICE protests across the country as he warned against “normalising” anti-democratic behaviour.

“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 – and not just my generation, at least since World War II – our understanding of how a liberal democracy is supposed to work,” Obama said.

“There has to be a response and pushback from civil society, from various institutions and individuals outside of government, but there also have to be people in government in both parties who say, 'No, you can't do that,’” he added.

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“What we're seeing right now… is not consistent with American democracy,” he added.

“It is consistent with autocracies.”

It comes after Trump sent the National Guard to Los Angeles in a bid to crush protests sparked by ICE detaining a slew of people in the name of preventing illegal immigration.

Hundreds took to the streets of Los Angeles after ICE officers detained dozens of people without warning.

In response, Donald Trump ordered 4,000 National Guard officers to descend on the city.

While the protests were largely people, some accused the Trump administration of stoking tensions and encouraging violence.