Barack Obama Has a Lot of Thoughts on Donald Trump's DOJ Meddling, Including: 'Maybe Don't'

Adam EnglandWed, May 6, 2026 at 1:12 PM UTC

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Barack Obama and Donald TrumpCredit: Melina Mara - Pool/Getty; Chip Somodevilla/Getty -

Barack Obama listed some of the powers he thinks a U.S. president shouldn't have in an interview with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, May 5

In comments seemingly intended for Donald Trump, Obama said that it would be good to restore "some sense of the Justice Department being independent"

Obama added that the U.S. could survive a lot of things, but not the "politicization of the justice system"

Barack Obama has lots of thoughts about Donald Trump's use of the Department of Justice.

In an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, May 5, the former president said he thought work would need to be done to codify the "basic norm" that "the White House shouldn't be able to direct the attorney general to go around prosecuting whoever the president wants prosecuted."

"You can't have a situation where whoever is in charge starts using that to go after their political enemies. Or reward their friends," he added.

The 64-year-old was seemingly referencing federal investigations involving Trump's political adversaries, including former FBI director James Comey.

Obama and Trump at the the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2017Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty

At the end of April, Comey was charged with threatening Trump's life over an Instagram photo he posted in 2025. Last fall, he was indicted on charges of lying to Congress and obstructing justice.

Obama, who served as president from 2009 to 2017, went on to say, "Maybe don't pardon people who have given you a bunch of campaign contributions. Or invested in your business."

He also said it would be good to restore "some sense of the Justice Department being independent and making judgments about specific cases and prosecutions."

He explained that he thinks the U.S. can withstand lots of things, like "bad policy" and "funky elections," but that it can't survive what he described as the "politicization of the justice system."

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Obama, who previously appeared on The Late Show in 2016 and 2020, said that a U.S. president shouldn't have "a bunch of side hustles" that "companies and foreign entities get enmeshed in," or "politicize the military."

In response, Colbert joked that with The Late Show set to end on May 21, he should run for president himself. After asking Obama "how dumb" an idea it would be, the former president quipped, "Well, you know, the bar has changed.”

"Let me put it this way. I think that you could perform significantly better than some folks that we've seen," Obama continued.

When Colbert announced last July that his show was ending, something its network CBS described as "purely a financial decision," Trump, 79, wrote on Truth Social: "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings."

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At the end of Obama's interview with Colbert, he thanked the late-night host for "everything that you have done."

"I know we've only got a few shows left, but I know you're gonna make them count, because you always have," he added.

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”