Barack Obama has expressed growing alarm about the trajectory of the United States under Donald Trump’s leadership, warning that the nation may be drifting away from its democratic roots. In a speech delivered in Hartford, Connecticut, Obama stated that the country is “dangerously close” to becoming an autocracy—a form of government in which one person holds unchecked power.

He referenced other countries, such as Hungary under Viktor Orbán, where elections take place but core democratic principles are eroded.