'They have an obligation': Pressure builds for former presidents to condemn Trump
During President Donald Trump's second term, the United States has four living ex-presidents: Republican George W. Bush and Democrats Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton.
None of them are Trump supporters. Obama, Biden and Clinton campaigned for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in 2024, but Bush didn't endorse Harris, Trump or anyone else.
Since Trump started his second term on January 20, Bush, Obama, Biden and Clinton haven't had much to say publicly about him.
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The Guardian's David Smith, in an article published on March 8, poses the question: What will it take for one of them to speak out about Trump?
During his 2025 State of the Union address, Trump attacked Biden as "the worst president in American history." But Biden, Obama, Clinton and Bush didn't respond.
Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, told The Guardian, "Let's look only at Clinton and Obama: it’s almost as though they've washed their hands of it. I've been calling them Pontius and Pilate. You can understand why because when you challenge Trump, he goes after you and never lets up. It's hell every single day, multiple times a day."
Nonetheless, Sabato is hoping that one of the former presidents will speak out — even if it means being hounded by Trump's "army of a------s."
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"Bill Clinton is close to 80, and he's been attacked a lot in his lifetime,” Sabato told The Guardian. "I'm not sure he wants any more of it, and then there's Hillary — he has to realize that Trump would go after her too. With Obama, the more I think about it, the more I believe that little friendly chat at Jimmy Carter's funeral either was part of Obama's plan or, once it happened, he decided to capitalize on it and keep his mouth shut so that he wouldn't be the target again.'
Sabato added, "It's unpleasant. Trump unleashes this army of assholes, and we’ve all experienced them on Twitter and in other ways. I get it. But I think they have an obligation to do more."
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Read The Guardian's full article at this link.
