Former President Barack Obama criticized President Donald Trump’s executive order curbing immigration in a statement on Monday, backing protesters who have taken to the nation’s airports to express their displeasure with Trump’s action on Friday.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden walk through the Crypt of the Capitol for Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony, in Washington, D.C, on Jan. 20, 2017. (Credit: SCOTT APPLEWHITE/AFP/Getty Images)
“The President fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion,” said Kevin Lewis, spokesman for the former president, in a statement.
This is first time Obama, who ceded power to Trump 10 days ago, has criticized the current president, breaking with an unwritten rule that former presidents refrain from criticizing the current White House occupant.
It is also the former president’s first statement since leaving the White House.
The statement also rejected the comparison between a 2011 temporary immigration order by Obama that halted Iraqis coming to the US and the broader ban by the Trump administration on citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.
The statement began by saying Obama was “heartened by the level of engagement,” referring to protests and voters’ calls to legislators.
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