Obama would like people to remember that 'nobody in my administration got indicted'


Former President Barack Obama got in a dig against President Trump on Tuesday, and he didn't even have to say his name.
Obama was at Rice University, attending a gala honoring the nonpartisan Baker Institute for Public Policy. He sat for a joint interview with the institute's namesake, former Secretary of State James Baker, moderated by presidential historian Jon Meacham. Baker had a long career in politics, working under Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush, and he remarked that he was most proud of not being indicted, The Houston Chronicle reports.
Obama then reminded the audience that "not only did I not get indicted, nobody in my administration got indicted. By the way, it was the only administration in modern history that that can be said about. In fact, nobody came close to being indicted, probably because the people who joined us were there for the right reasons." Several of Trump's former high-level advisers and associates, including onetime National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and campaign chairman Paul Manafort, have been indicted or pleaded guilty to charges.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Baker and Obama also discussed how the political climate changed between the Reagan era and when Obama took office. Gerrymandering plays a role, Obama said, as well as the media landscape. During Reagan's time, "there was a common set of facts, a baseline," he said, and by 2009, "what you increasingly have is a media environment in which if you are a Fox News viewer, you have an entirely different reality than if you are a New York Times reader." Baker agreed, saying, "The responsible center in American politics has disappeared."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Aston Martin Vantage Roadster: 'a rare treat indeed'
The Week Recommends The Roadster version of Aston Martin's new Vantage coupé makes even 'the most mundane journey feel special'
-
Bad Friend: Tiffany Watt Smith explores why women abandon friendships
The Week Recommends A 'deeply researched' account of female friendship through history
-
Brazil's reborn dolls craze
Under The Radar The 'hyper-realistic' babies soaring in popularity in South American nation have spawned controversy
-
Elon Musk slams Trump's 'pork-filled' signature bill
speed read 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong,' Musk posted on X
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs