Obama Slams Corporate ‘Cowardice’ Toward Trump’s Demands

Former President Barack Obama delivered one of his sharpest critiques yet of President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda, accusing businesses and universities of “bending the knee” to policies “cooked up” by Trump adviser Stephen Miller.

Speaking on the final episode of comedian Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, released Sunday, Obama called on corporate leaders and university presidents to show courage in the face of what he described as “strong-arm tactics” from the White House.

“If you’re a university president, say, ‘This might hurt if we lose some grant money, but that’s what endowments are for,’” Obama said. “Because what we’re not going to do is compromise our basic academic independence.”

The former president argued that corporations must refuse to bow to political pressure from the Trump administration. “If you’re a business, you say, ‘We think it’s important to hire people from different backgrounds. We’re not going to be bullied into following whatever criteria Steve Miller dreams up in the West Wing.’”

Miller—now Trump’s deputy chief of staff—has spearheaded a sweeping rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the private sector. Through his group America First Legal, he’s filed numerous lawsuits against companies like Target and Walmart, accusing them of “discrimination” against white employees and conservative job applicants.

The campaign has prompted several corporations to quietly scale back DEI programs that were once public pillars of their brands. “It’s a chilling effect,” said Dr. Alicia Monroe, a political science professor at Georgetown University. “Businesses are afraid of being sued or losing contracts, so they’re retreating from values they claimed to hold dear.”

According to reports, the Trump administration is also threatening to withhold federal funding from nine universities unless they comply with a new set of political conditions. These include halting race-conscious admissions policies, adopting the administration’s definition of gender, and banning transgender athletes from women’s sports.

MIT President Sally Kornbluth became the first to publicly defy the order last week, writing in a letter to the administration that the school “will not trade our principles for government favor.” Her stance has emboldened others in academia. Officials at the University of Arizona called the ultimatum “an unacceptable act of federal interference.”

Trump has reportedly clashed with Harvard as well, allegedly freezing more than $2 billion in grants after the university refused to curb student activism or dismantle its DEI infrastructure.

Obama said these political confrontations represent a “test” for both progressives and conservatives who may have underestimated Trump’s second-term ambitions.

“We got used to thinking things would always get a little better—a little less racist, a little more open, a little more generous,” he told Maron. “But it was easy to be progressive when it didn’t cost anything. Now, here’s the test.”

He issued a stark warning to voters who backed Trump out of economic frustration: “If you’re a Hispanic man angry about inflation and you think all that talk about Trump doesn’t matter—now your sons are being stopped in L.A. because they look Latino. That’s a test, too.”

Obama’s comments mark yet another flashpoint in his long-running feud with Trump, dating back to the “birther” conspiracy that launched Trump’s political career. Since returning to office in 2025, Trump has sought to reverse nearly every major Obama-era initiative—from climate action to immigration reform—while reshaping federal policy to reflect his nationalist platform.

Political analyst Jamal Green told The Atlantic that Obama’s remarks are “less about nostalgia and more about urgency.” “He’s warning Democrats that democracy doesn’t defend itself,” Green said. “If institutions and individuals keep giving in to intimidation, it’s not just DEI programs that disappear—it’s the idea of a free society.”

The White House has not responded to requests for comment.