The Democrat Party is a lifeless carcass. Former Democrats are now speaking out.
And Barack Obama was just ripped a new one from a CNN journalist who went rogue to tell the truth.
Obama’s Tone Draws Criticism from Modern Democrats
CNN contributor and journalist Lulu Garcia-Navarro recently commented on former President Barack Obama’s approach to addressing Democratic audiences, suggesting it no longer resonates with the party’s current base. Speaking on CNN’s The Arena, she described Obama’s style as increasingly admonishing, particularly in his calls for Democrats to show resilience and stop focusing on internal party frustrations.
Garcia-Navarro pointed out that Obama’s remarks often carry a lecturing tone, urging party members to step up and embrace challenging principles like free speech, even when it’s uncomfortable. She noted, however, that this approach feels disconnected from the voters Democrats need to engage most. “His scolding style doesn’t land well anymore,” she said, referencing his comments during the 2024 election cycle where he urged Black men to support Vice President Kamala Harris, implying their hesitation stemmed from resistance to a female president.
“I‘ll also say from having read that speech that he gave, he was pretty scoldy. He is very scoldy these days, and he talked a lot about how people are not stepping up and doing their part and how people have been folding and not really standing up tall,” Garcia-Navarro said.
These remarks were part of a speech Obama gave at a private fundraiser in Red Bank, New Jersey, hosted by outgoing Governor Phil Murphy and his wife, Tammy. The event, held to rally Democratic support post-2024 election losses, saw Obama emphasizing the need for action over disillusionment. He stressed standing up for principles like free speech, even in difficult moments, and encouraged Democrats to remain active despite setbacks. Yet, Garcia-Navarro argued that this tone risks alienating key demographics.
Former President Barack Obama, once a towering figure in the Democratic Party, is increasingly seen as out of step with its modern base, particularly following his controversial remarks during the 2024 election cycle. His influence, while still significant among some party loyalists, appears to be fading as younger voters and new political realities reshape the Democratic landscape. This shift has been made worse by criticism of his tone, policies, and campaign strategies, especially his comments targeting Black men in 2024.
During a campaign stop in Pittsburgh on October 10, 2024, Obama addressed Black male voters, urging them to support Vice President Kamala Harris and suggesting that their lack of enthusiasm might reflect discomfort with a woman as president. “You’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses,” he said, adding that this reluctance was “not acceptable.” These remarks, delivered at a Harris campaign office, sparked immediate backlash. Critics, including some Black leaders, called the comments condescending and accused Obama of scapegoating a loyal Democratic voting bloc.
The backlash was swift and vocal. Actor Wendell Pierce, for instance, labeled Obama’s remarks an “awful message,” arguing that Black men were not the problem and that the party should focus on broader voter engagement rather than singling out specific groups. Similarly, former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner criticized Obama for not addressing other demographic groups with the same intensity, emphasizing that Black men’s voting patterns remain largely aligned with Black women’s. Polls supported this, showing 78% of Black male voters backed Harris, though this was down from 80% for Biden in 2020.
Obama’s comments also reignited debates about his approach to Democratic politics. Some party strategists and voters view his reliance on identity politics as outdated, particularly in an era where economic concerns and dissatisfaction with the Democratic establishment are driving voter shifts. A New York Times/Siena College poll from October 2024 indicated that 15% of Black men supported Donald Trump, a slight increase from 2020, reflecting frustration with the Democratic Party’s messaging and policies.
This criticism ties into a larger narrative about Obama’s legacy within the Democratic Party. While his 2008 and 2012 victories were historic, his presidency saw significant losses for Democrats, with over 1,000 state legislative seats lost, according to Ballotpedia. Critics argue that Obama’s focus on national policies, like the Affordable Care Act, often came at the expense of state-level organizing, leaving the party vulnerable in subsequent elections. This sentiment was echoed by Democratic National Committee officials in 2024, who blamed Obama’s lack of investment in state parties for ongoing organizational weaknesses.
The 2024 election cycle further highlighted Obama’s disconnect. His campaign efforts for Harris, while high-profile, failed to replicate the energy of his own campaigns. Posts on social media platforms criticized his Pittsburgh remarks as divisive, with some users accusing him of “race hatred politics” for framing Black men’s voting preferences as rooted in s*xism. These reactions suggest a growing skepticism about Obama’s ability to connect with a new generation of voters, many of whom came of age during Donald Trump’s political dominance rather than Obama’s.
Democratic strategist Mike Nellis noted that nostalgia for the Obama era, while still potent among older Democrats, is less relevant to younger voters facing economic challenges and a polarized political climate. “The style of leadership that defined Obama’s presidency doesn’t fully address today’s struggles,” Nellis said. This sentiment was compounded by reports of tension between Obama’s and Biden’s teams, with some Biden loyalists viewing Obama as dismissive of his former vice president’s campaign efforts.
Obama’s influence is further complicated by his post-presidential role. While he remains a fundraising powerhouse, as seen at the New Jersey event hosted by Governor Phil Murphy, his strategic input has drawn scrutiny. Advisers from his inner circle who joined Harris’s campaign faced criticism for failing to adapt to 2024’s political realities, with some Democrats calling for new voices to lead the party forward. “Obama’s not running for office again,” said Jeff Timmer of the Lincoln Project. “We need leaders who reflect today’s challenges.”
The Democratic Party’s 2024 losses, including Harris’s defeat to Trump, have intensified calls for a reset. Obama’s remarks at the Obama Foundation’s Democracy Forum in December 2024, where he advocated for pluralism and engaging with opposing views, were seen by some as a step toward reconciliation. However, others viewed them as another instance of his lecturing tone, which critics like Garcia-Navarro argue fails to resonate with a base seeking actionable solutions over moralizing rhetoric.
Economic dissatisfaction has also played a role in Obama’s declining favor. Exit polls from Al Jazeera showed Trump gaining ground among Black voters, particularly in battleground states like Wisconsin, where economic concerns like poverty and low wages drove a 13-point shift toward the Republican candidate. Harris’s “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men,” announced in October 2024, aimed to address these issues but was seen as too little, too late, by some voters.
Black men, in particular, expressed grievances beyond Obama’s accusations of misogyny. Brookings Institution scholars Keon L. Gilbert and Rashawn Ray highlighted that Black men feel overlooked by Democrats on issues like economic opportunity and political representation. “Black men are not a monolith,” they wrote, noting that while most still vote Democratic, their concerns reflect frustrations with the party’s center-right policies.
The Democratic Party’s $20 million initiative to study how to appeal to male voters, announced in May 2025, is just the beginning of the Party’s struggles. The “Speaking with American Men” study aims to understand why young men, including Black men, are drifting from the party. Critics, however, argue that such efforts highlight a disconnect, with one conservative commentator noting, “Democrats don’t care about you; they only care about your vote.”
