Former President Barack Obama isn’t sugarcoating it — he says Democrats need to stop complaining and start acting.
“It’s going to require a little bit less navel-gazing and a little less whining and being in fetal positions. And it’s going to require Democrats to just toughen up,” Obama said Friday at a private fundraiser in New Jersey, according to CNN.
This was Obama’s first big appearance since Democrats were rocked by their losses in the 2024 elections, and he made one thing clear: now is not the time to sit on the sidelines.
“Don’t tell me you’re a Democrat, but you’re kind of disappointed right now, so you’re not doing anything. No, now is exactly the time that you get in there and do something,” he said.
With Donald Trump back in the White House and Republicans in control, Obama warned that staying passive is not an option.
“What’s being asked of us is make some effort to stand up for the things that you think are right,” he said. “And be willing to be a little bit uncomfortable in defense of your values, and in defense of the country, and in defense of the world that you want to leave to your children and your grandchildren.”
Obama told the crowd that if Democrats step up, they can still turn things around.
“If we do our jobs over the next year and a half — then I think we will rebuild momentum, and we will position ourselves to get this country moving in the direction it should.”
Standing alongside Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin and New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill, Obama called on Democrats to stop waiting for a perfect solution or some larger-than-life figure to lead them.
“Stop looking for the quick fix. Stop looking for the messiah,” he said. “You have great candidates running races right now. Support those candidates.”
He pointed to the upcoming elections in New Jersey and Virginia as a real chance to shift momentum. “A big jump-start for where we need to go,” he called them.
Sherrill, who recently won the Democratic nomination for governor in New Jersey, is running to replace term-limited Governor Phil Murphy. She faces Republican Jack Ciattarelli this fall.
