Before he left office 11 days ago, President Barack Obama maintained that he didn’t want to become a figurehead for liberal opposition to Donald Trump’s presidency. “I believe in the wisdom that George Washington showed, that at a certain point, you make room for—for new voices and fresh legs,” he said.

Obama had several good reasons for feeling reluctant. The more visible he is, the less impact his comments will have; the more active his role, the less political oxygen available to the liberal leaders of the future; and, of course, he wants to maintain some degree of back-channel influence over Trump himself—a precious resource that would be quickly extinguished by criticizing the new president regularly.

Less than two weeks into retirement, and Obama’s already encountered an outrage too great to remain silent over.

“[T]he President fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith,” concluded a statement from his spokesman Kevin Lewis—a barely concealed rebuke of Trump’s anti-Muslim executive order.

Obama could just as easily have said, “I told you so.” His other reasons for conserving his voice are perfectly defensible, but it looks conspicuously like Trump has discarded even the basic advice Obama gave him, which means Obama sacrifices no influence by criticizing his successor. Obama may not want to speak out often, but he has no reason not to speak out in more bracing terms.