Obama, Maron discuss democracy's "test" under Trump in final WTF podcast
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Former President Obama looks on while attending the game between the LA Clippers and the Detroit Pistons at Intuit Dome on March 5. Photo: Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
After some 16 years and hundreds of shows, comedian Marc Maron hosted the final guest on his popular WTF podcast: former President Barack Obama, who used the platform to urge institutions to stand up to the Trump administration.
The big picture: The former president, whom President Trump has continued to criticize nearly a decade after he left the White House, rarely wades into political spats — though he has recently delivered direct rebukes to the administration.
Driving the news: The final episode was released Monday — more than a decade after then-President Obama joined Maron in his garage studio in 2015.
- In the hourlong discussion, Obama bestowed Maron with advice he said was given as he left the White House: "Take a beat, and take some satisfaction looking backwards."
- The wide-ranging conversation focused on the preservation of the nation's democracy amid Trump's expansion of executive power and reflected on Democrats' shortfalls that opened Washington to a Republican trifecta.
What he's saying: "I think there is no doubt that a lot of the norms, civic habits, expectations, institutional guardrails that we had, that we took for granted for our democracy have been weakened deliberately," Obama said.
- "When you have militaries that can direct force against their own people ... that is inherently corrupting," he added in response to the Trump administration sending National Guard troops into American cities.
- Obama said the administration's comparing "ordinary street crime" to an "insurrection ... or a terrorist act" constitutes a "genuine effort to weaken how we have understood democracy."
The other side: White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement provided to Axios that "[w]hether it be fostering international peace, restoring safety to dangerous cities, or creating a strong economy, President Trump has made America hot again – no matter what Barack Hussein Obama has to say about it."
Zoom out: Obama encouraged law firms, university presidents and businesses — which have all faced pressure to back the Trump administration's policies and demands — to "take a stand."
- He continued, "We're being tested right now. I think people, and that includes young people, understand there are consequences to the choices that we're making. If you decide not to vote, that's a consequence."
Friction point: The former president also reflected on the Democratic post-mortem sparked by Trump's reelection, faulting some on the left for using language that asserted a "holier than thou superiority."
- He said, "You can't constantly lecture people without acknowledging that you've got some blind spots, too."
- Later, Maron pointed to those on the left who opted not to vote in protest of the Biden administration's approach to the Israel-Hamas war.
- "Part of what a liberal democracy requires is an acceptance of partial victory," Obama said.
Go deeper: MAGA demands arrests after Trump accuses Obama of "treason"
Editor's note: This story was updated with a statement from a White House spokesperson.
