Photo: AFP
Former President Barack Obama is condemning businesses that have struck deals with President Donald Trump's administration and warning of growing threats to democracy, per CNN.
During an interview on Marc Maron's "WTF" podcast, Obama was critical of corporations that have "been bullied" into accepting the current administration's policies.
“We all have this capacity, I think, to take a stand,” Obama said.
“We’re not going to be bullied into saying that we can only hire people or promote people based on some criteria that’s been cooked up by Steve Miller," the former president added, taking aim at Trump adviser Stephen Miller.
Obama said he's sympathetic to organizations seeking to avoid political backlash, but the stakes don't justify silence.
“We’re not at the stage where you have to be like Nelson Mandela and be in a 10-by-12 jail cell for 27 years and break rocks," he said.
Obama's comments mark one of his most direct criticisms of Trump outside of the campaign trail. During the interview, which was recorded at Obama's Washington office, the former president also addressed Trump's recent deployment of the National Guard to Chicago.
“If I had sent in the National Guard into Texas and just said, ‘A lot of problems in Dallas, a lot of crime there… I’m going to take over law enforcement,’ it is mind-boggling to me how Fox News would have responded," Obama said, calling Trump's move “a deliberate end run around not just a concept, but a law that’s been around for a long time."
The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.