Former US President Barack Obama used his appearance at Hamilton College to deliver a sharp critique of Donald Trump’s presidency.

Addressing students during an on-stage interview, Obama questioned the silence of Trump’s allies over actions that, he said, would have sparked outrage had they been taken by him.

“Imagine if I had done any of this,” Obama said. “Imagine if I had pulled Fox News’ credentials from the White House press corps. Imagine if I had said to law firms that were representing parties that were upset with policies my administration had initiated, that you will not be allowed into government buildings. We will punish you economically for dissenting from the Affordable Care Act or the Iran deal. We will ferret out students who protest against my policies. 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.”

Podcaster Derek Hunter responded on X, writing: “@BarackObama, you illegally spied on @JamesRosenTV's email to try to find his sources. I'd say that's worse than not letting them have a seat in the briefing room.”

Hunter was referring to a 2013 incident during the Obama administration when the justice department investigated Fox News reporter James Rosen in connection with a leak from the State Department.

Rosen had reported on classified information allegedly provided by Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a state department adviser.

A court affidavit first reported by The Washington Post named Rosen “at the very least, either as an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator” in the case.

In 2017, Rosen spoke about his experience.

“Nothing that we've seen so far from the Trump administration, at least yet, rises to that level of seriousness or nature in terms of any kind of attack or assault on the press,” Rosen said, reported CBS News.

Obama, who served two terms before Trump’s presidency, said he has been observing developments. “So, this is the first time I’ve been speaking publicly for a while,” he said. “I’ve been watching for a little bit.”

He said Trump’s efforts to reshape the federal government, intimidate news outlets and pressure the legal establishment were concerning. “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.

“The idea that a White House can say to law firms, if you represent parties that we don’t like, we’re going to pull all our business or bar you from representing people effectively. Those kinds of – that kind of behavior is contrary to the basic compact we have as Americans,” Obama said.

Obama also urged universities to hold on to their independence.

“If you are a university, you may have to figure out, are we in fact doing things right?” he told the students. “Have we in fact violated our own values, our own code, violated the law in some fashion? If not, and you’re just being intimidated, well, you should be able to say, that’s why we got this big endowment.”

His words came at a time when the Trump administration has moved to cut federal funding to elite universities, accused them of antisemitism, and warned them against shielding student protesters. Several students have been arrested in past few weeks for participating in pro-Palestinian protests or activities on campuses. Hundreds of international students studying in the United States received emails last month from the US Department of State, telling them to self-deport as their F-1 visas were revoked owing to campus activism.

He also responded to Trump’s new tariff announcement. “I don’t think this is going to be good for America,” he said.