Former President Obama’s message to Democrats is to “just toughen up” amid frustration with the political landscape under President Trump.
“I think 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 in remarks at a private fundraiser Friday in New Jersey, according excerpts obtained by The Hill.
“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.
Obama’s comments, which were first reported by CNN, marked his first fundraising appearance since Democrats’ 2024 losses, as the party searches for a new way forward as it grapples with a GOP-controlled Washington in Trump’s second term.
He called out “progressives, liberals … who seem like they’re kind of cowed and intimidated and shrinking away from just asserting what they believe” and said he’s “not impressed” by law firms that set aside the law or universities that compromise “academic independence” for the sake of saving money or comfort.
“What’s being asked of us is make some effort to stand up for the things that you think are right. 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,” the former president said.
“And if we all do that — 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.”
The appearance in New Jersey, alongside Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin and gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), comes ahead of New Jersey’s gubernatorial and state legislative races this year.
“Stop looking for the quick fix. Stop looking for the messiah. You have great candidates running races right now. Support those candidates,” Obama said, saying the off-year elections in New Jersey and Virginia could be “a big jump-start for where we need to go.”
Sherrill, who represents New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, won the Democratic nomination for governor of the Garden State in early June. She is aiming to succeed Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who is term-limited, by beating Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli in the fall.
—Updated at 11:50 a.m. EDT
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