Last week, Barack Obama gave some advice to his party, and it’s astonishing how quickly his words turned into a self-inflicted political wound. He was once hailed as the Democrat Party’s unifying figure, but Obama’s recent scolding of his own party’s base didn’t just flop — it sparked a backlash even his defenders can’t ignore.
As PJ Media previously reported, during a ritzy gathering of party elites in New Jersey, Obama dismissed the rampant frustration among liberals, telling them to show “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,” he said.
Predictably, the base didn’t take it lying down, and frankly, I can’t blame them. This is the same party that cooked up the Russia collusion hoax, impeached President Trump twice for no legitimate reason, weaponized the justice system to try to throw him behind bars, sent the FBI to raid his home, tried to remove him from the ballot, and unleashed such venomous rhetoric that it helped inspire not one but two near-assassinations. It’s hard to imagine how much more aggressive they could be.
Even pillars of the leftist media couldn’t stomach it. Whoopi Goldberg publicly unloaded on Obama for his patronizing lecture.
“Let me remind everybody who was out on the front lines marching, when we had the giant marches that went on. It was the people. The people went out. They were not navel-gazing. It was older people who were saying, ‘Why are you touching my Social Security,’” Goldberg claimed, even though Social Security isn’t being touched. “It was not people whining; it was about people saying, ‘Why are you taking these rights away from my child when my child was born here?’”
Whoopi wasn’t the only one on the left to speak out against what Obama said.
“Barack Obama said we need to toughen up. Sean, I think what we need to do is sober up,” former Democratic strategist Dan Turrentine told Sean Hannity on Fox News. “After the last election, the two things everyone said Democrats needed to do was, one, get over Trump derangement syndrome, and two, moderate on social issues and things like immigration. But what have we done? Any time any member tries to do it, the base screams.”
🚨NEW: @danturrentine:
“Barack Obama said we need to toughen up. Sean, I think what we need to do is sober up.”
“After the last election, the two things everyone said Democrats needed to do was 1. Get over Trump Derangement Syndrome, and 2. Moderate on social issues and things… pic.twitter.com/a74dbCsWEx
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) July 16, 2025
The real problem isn’t a lack of emotional fortitude; it’s a party out of touch with ordinary voters, addicted to its own sanctimony and incapable of moderating its agenda.
Exclusively for our VIPs: Why 2026 Looks Bleak for Democrats
When Barack Obama starts getting heat from his own side, you know the shine is wearing off. For years, Democrats treated him like a political messiah: untouchable, above reproach, the party’s ultimate unifier. But now, even the base is pushing back, and the criticism isn’t coming from the fringes; it’s from within the ranks of legacy media and longtime strategists. That’s not just backlash; it’s a warning sign. Obama tried to lecture his party into “toughening up,” but all he really did was reveal how fragile his influence has become.
When the cult of Obama starts to crack, it says more about the state of the Democratic Party than any Republican ever could.
Disarray and backlash are tearing the Democrats apart — and PJ Media will call it like it is. Obama’s lost his shine, and the media is desperate to keep the truth from you. Join PJ Media VIP for honest coverage, exclusive insights, and to join your voice in our vibrant comments. Save 60% with code FIGHT. Defend America’s future — join the movement today!
