Democracy in the Crosshairs: Obama Sounds the Alarm
It’s not often that a former president issues such a direct, sobering warning about American democracy’s trajectory. Yet before an attentive Connecticut audience, Barack Obama did precisely that, suggesting the United States sits “dangerously close” to normalizing autocratic behavior. Obama’s candor, during a conversation with historian Heather Cox Richardson at a packed Hartford Forum event, reverberated like a klaxon for anyone who still holds the ideals of liberal democracy dear.
The ex-president zeroed in on the erosion of democratic norms, comparing the situation to nations like Hungary under Viktor Orbán. There, elections occur, but institutional checks, free press, and basic constitutional guardrails have given way to strongman rule. “It is consistent with Hungary under Orbán,” Obama argued, a pointed and chilling analogy considering Orbán’s methodical dismantling of that country’s judiciary and media.
Is this a far-fetched comparison? Not when measured against recent events: efforts to overturn the 2020 election, the relentless barrage against the legitimacy of the judiciary, and attacks on the freedom of the press. Constitutional experts—including Laurence Tribe, a respected Harvard law professor—have echoed Obama’s fears. Tribe recently wrote in The Atlantic that “a democracy doesn’t vanish overnight, but dies by fits and starts—by the normalization of the unacceptable.”
Rhetoric is one thing; actions are another. Obama didn’t mince words about the consequences, reminding the crowd that democratic decline isn’t a switch flipped overnight, but a gradual slide. As he put it, “There’s a difference between having an election and actually having a democracy.”
Bureaucracy, the Courts, and the Peril of Complacency
What keeps a democracy vital? According to Obama, it’s not simply ritualistic voting or even robust protest—it’s institutions. He emphasized that every government agency, from the judiciary to the bureaucracy, must take their constitutional oaths seriously. Allowing even the smallest cracks to go unaddressed—think a judge ignoring precedent or a civil servant abdicating ethical responsibility—sets the stage for erosion.
History offers searing lessons. In countries where autocratic drift took hold, it was rarely a coup or a sudden collapse, but a coordinated toxicity infecting courts, bureaucracies, and legislative bodies alike. Yale historian Timothy Snyder notes in his seminal work, On Tyranny, that “most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given.” An alarming number of U.S. officials seem willing to hand over that power for party, tribe, or self-interest.
Obama’s critique included not just the opposing party but also a warning to his own side. Pressed about the responsibilities of wealthy progressives, he challenged the notion that liberalism could be pain-free or separate from personal sacrifice. “It’s possible to be progressive and make a great deal of money—but not at the expense of activism or the greater good,” he said. Affluence, he hinted, should not grant a pass from civic duty.
Across the nation, the temperature continues to rise, with fierce “No Kings” protests and mounting calls to defend judicial independence. Obama praised these grassroots responses, noting that real resistance has always grown from ordinary people—students, workers, and those whom demagogues typically try to intimidate into silence.
“There also have to be people in government in both parties who say, ‘No, you can’t do that.’ If we lose that, we lose what makes this country unique.”
Pushing Back: The Enduring Hope for American Democracy
Why such urgency and consternation from a man once dubbed “No Drama Obama”? Because the stakes could not be higher. As Obama incisively observed, civic resistance cannot be the exclusive task of activists and journalists. Everyday Americans must recognize that democracy depends on their vigilance, not just their vote. The near-unprecedented waves of protest after the 2020 election—across race, class, and generational divides—made clear that the American public is not sleepwalking through this crisis.
Yet even in warning, Obama radiated that signature hopefulness. Addressing young people, he encouraged them to remain “impatient for justice,” to hold leaders accountable, and to refuse cynicism. It’s a message with a centuries-long lineage: the American experiment is not self-sustaining; its survival requires both persistence and pushback.
A closer look reveals cracks in the foundation aren’t new. During McCarthyism, during Watergate, the system’s resilience depended on principled dissent, sustained public pressure, and the rule of law. According to Pew Research, trust in government is now near historic lows, but civic engagement—especially among the young—remains high. That’s the paradox and possibly the path forward: Democracies falter when their defenders forget how fragile they are.
As the country faces fresh confrontations with disinformation, anti-democratic rhetoric, and legislative power grabs, history urges us to remember: the margins between democracy and autocracy are slim, but fiercely defended by those unwilling to remain silent. For anyone counting on the “arc of history” to bend without effort, Obama’s warning is an unignorable call: “Democracy is never a given, but always a choice.”
