Obama's message to Democrats
Former President Barack Obama told whining Democrats that they needed to 'toughen up' as the party figures out how to fight back against President Donald Trump. On Friday, Obama headlined a private fundraiser in New Jersey hosted by the state's current Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in support of the Democratic nominee for New Jersey governor, Rep. Mikie Sherrill.
CNN obtained excerpts of the former president's remarks. 'You know, don't tell me you're a Democrat , but you're kind of disappointed right now, so you're not doing anything,' Obama said. 'No, now is exactly the time that you get in there and do something.'
The ex-president complained about party members grumbling over there not being a defined leader of the party. 'I think it's going to require a little bit less navel-gazing and a little less whining and being in fetal positions,' he said. 'And it's going to require Democrats to just toughen up.'
There are two off-year elections that Obama said Democrats should be focused on - the governors races in New Jersey and Virginia. In past years, both races have been considered bellwethers - and if Democrats are successful they could give them momentum going into the midterms.
Obama called the races 'a big jumpstart for where we need to go.' 'Stop looking for the quick fix,' he told the crowd. 'Stop looking for the messiah.' 'You have great candidates running races right now. Support those candidates,' the ex-president said.
In the primary last month, New Jersey Republicans selected former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli to be there guy. He was backed by Trump. Ciattarelli unsuccessfully pursued the governorship in both 2017 and 2021 - losing the primary in 2017 and losing the general election to Murphy in 2021.
'Make sure that the DNC has what it needs to compete in what will be a more data-driven, more social media-driven cycle, which will cost some money and expertise and time,' Obama advised on the two races. More broadly, he encouraged Democrats to 'stand up for the things that you think are right.'
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