Obama's dire wake-up call to cowardly Democrats: ‘Toughen up!'
He didn't stop there. He called out the same progressives who proudly stood behind him during his presidency, wondering where that energy disappeared to.
'What I have been surprised by is the degree to which I've seen people who, when I was president, or progressives, liberals, stood for all kinds of stuff, who seem like they're kind of cowed and intimidated and shrinking away from just asserting what they believe, or at least what they said they believe,' he said.
Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban echoed this frustration on Pod Save America — though from a different angle. Cuban thinks Democrats have a message, but it's the wrong one.
'We pick the wrong pressure points,' he said. 'It's just, 'Trump sucks.' That's the underlying thought of everything the Democrats do, Trump sucks. Trump says the sky is blue … Trump sucks … That's not the way to win, because it's not about Trump, it's about the people of the United States of America and what's good for them and how to get them to a place where they're in a better position.'
Whoopi Goldberg disagrees. She recently pushed back on 'The View' this week. 'With much due respect to you both, I believe you are pointing the finger at the wrong person when you say Democrats.'
I love Whoopi. I spent time with her during my stint co-hosting 'The View.' But this time, I think she's missing the point.
Obama is not criticizing the average voter or rank-and-file Democrat. He's calling out the silence of Democratic leaders— the ones who spent billions warning voters that Trump was an existential threat to democracy, only to follow it up with … nothing. No unified strategy, no economic plan. Just more reminders that 'Trump sucks.'
To Cuban's point, Democrats have reduced their platform to little more than that — and the data proves it. According to a New York Times study, before the last election, Republicans were making steady gains in working-class counties. Democrats? They were growing almost exclusively in wealthier, college-educated areas.
Even Bernie Sanders saw it coming. He warned Kamala Harris directly before the election, telling her the party was ignoring 'pocketbook issues' and focusing too much on converting Republicans instead of reconnecting with working Americans. After the defeat, Bernie didn't mince words, writing on X, 'It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them.'
And that's the heart of the problem. Trump's 2024 win wasn't a fluke — it was the result of years of Democratic neglect in working-class America. Back in 2016, Democrats had Russia to blame, but not anymore. This loss is on them.
Throwing money at the problem won't fix it. Nor will endlessly searching for a 'Joe Rogan-type' to magically speak for the party.
What voters are asking for isn't complicated: authenticity, fresh thinking, and real solutions.
Look at Zohran Mamdani, the socialist who just won New York's Democratic mayoral primary. Why did he win? Because he talked about what actually matters: jobs, housing, healthcare. He spoke to economic discontent — the same force that fueled Trump's rise. Mamdani understood what the establishment refuses to admit: The economy isn't working for average Americans, and they're desperate for someone who gets it.
Here's the kicker: Democrats actually have an opening. Trump's approval is slipping. Inflation is on the rise. His economic policies and tariffs are backfiring. Americans don't like the way he is going about immigration reform. Americans are uneasy. They're ready for an alternative.
But Democrats can't fill that role if they're stuck in what Obama called 'fetal positions.'
This is a call for courage, a call for realignment, a call for unified action over ideology. It's time for Democrats to stop whining, stop chasing Republicans, and start fighting for the people they claim to represent. Otherwise, get ready for more red maps — and more heartbreak.
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