Obama’s Midnight Warning: A U.S. Boldness Alien to the Philippines

At 12:25 AM on June 20, 2025, as the Philippines rests under a quiet midnight sky, the idea of a former president publicly warning of autocratic drift in the current administration feels like a foreign concept. Yet, on June 17, 2025, in Hartford, Connecticut, former U.S. President Barack Obama did just that, urging Americans to resist the erosion of democracy under President Donald Trump’s administration (Schwartz, 2025). For Filipinos, where past presidents rarely critique successors so openly—especially without seeking re-election—Obama’s words are a bold anomaly.

In the Philippines, a former president with Obama’s global stature challenging the sitting government’s authority is unthinkable. Leaders like Rodrigo Duterte or Benigno Aquino III typically fade into private life or focus on legacy projects, not urging citizens, institutions, or officials to defy the state. Obama’s warning—that the U.S. is “dangerously close” to autocracy, shown by actions like defunding universities or silencing dissenters—carries a directness absent in our political culture (Vinall & McDaniel, 2025).

Obama’s call for civic resistance, urging universities to tap endowments to counter federal cuts and citizens to stand against intimidation, would shake Manila’s political landscape (Vinall & McDaniel, 2025). Here, academic institutions navigate political pressures quietly, and such public defiance from a former leader, especially at this late hour, is unheard of. Our tradition of deference and pragmatism contrasts sharply with Obama’s appeal to protect democratic norms.

This U.S.-Philippine divide reveals a uniquely American democratic space that, despite its challenges, allows such critique without immediate fear of reprisal. In the Philippines, where political consequences loom large, a former president rallying against the state remains a distant dream. Obama’s midnight warning, echoing across the Pacific, challenges Americans to guard their democracy—a call Filipinos might admire as we face our own political realities.

References
Schwartz, J. (2025, June 17). Obama steps back into the public eye amid political and global unrest. The New York Times.
Vinall, F., & McDaniel, J. (2025, April 5). In speech, Obama urges citizens, universities and firms to resist Trump. The Washington Post.