Presidents' club Americans in turmoil ask why their ex-leaders do not speak out

The stadium announcer called on the crowd to give a warm welcome to "a very special guest". A cheer went up as basketball fans realised that Barack Obama was in their midst.

- David Smith

The former US president rose to his feet, smiled and waved before watching the Los Angeles Clippers take on the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.

It was a jarringly normal scene at a profoundly abnormal time. The previous evening, Donald Trump had delivered the longest ever presidential address to Congress, a dark, divisive tirade strewn with lies and insults - he called Joe Biden "worst president in American history" and Senator Elizabeth Warren "Pocahontas".

Yet Biden did not respond and Obama remained silent. Bill Clinton and George W Bush were similarly mute. Six weeks into a Trump second term that has shattered democratic norms and ruptured diplomatic alliances, it remains unclear what might prompt the former presidents to speak out.

Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said: "Let's look only at Clinton and Obama: it's almost as though they've washed their hands of it. I've been calling them Pontius and Pilate," he said, referring to the Roman governor who allowed Jesus to be crucified. "You can understand why because when you challenge Trump he goes after you and never lets up. It's hell every single day, multiple times a day."

Trump's barnstorming first six weeks in office have left millions of Americans reeling. Critics say it is time to break the emergency glass.

Struggling to find a coherent strategy, Democrats used delaying tactics to stall Trump's cabinet nominees and heckled his address to Congress. Grassroots activists have expressed their anger and fear while demanding more direct action. Notably, former senior government officials have also gone public with their concerns.

Last month a group of five former treasury secretaries wrote a joint essay for the New York Times warning that the nation's payment system was under attack by political actors from Elon Musk's so-called "department of government efficiency", or Doge.