Former President Barack Obama took aim at the current political climate during remarks Friday at the funeral of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson in Chicago, criticizing what he described as ongoing attacks on American institutions without directly mentioning President Donald Trump or his administration.
The service drew a number of prominent political figures and public figures to honor Jackson’s legacy, including former Presidents Joe Biden and Bill Clinton, along with left-leaning activists such as Rev. Al Sharpton.
Jackson, a longtime civil rights activist and former Democratic presidential candidate, died last month at the age of 84. His family said he had been battling progressive supranuclear palsy, a neurodegenerative disorder. Over decades of activism, Jackson became a well-known figure in national politics and civil rights advocacy, and many supporters credit his work with helping open doors for future Black political leaders, including Obama.
Speaking during the service, Obama reflected on Jackson’s influence but also delivered pointed comments about what he described as troubling developments in American politics.
“We are living in a time when it can be hard to hope,” Obama told the crowd.
He continued by claiming that Americans face new challenges each day to democratic institutions and the rule of law.
“Each day we wake up to some new assault on our democratic institutions,” Obama said. “Another setback the idea of the rule of law. An offense to common decency.”
Obama added that many Americans are seeing developments that once seemed unimaginable.
“Every day you wake up to things you just didn’t think were possible,” he said.
The former president also suggested that national leaders are encouraging division among Americans.
“Each day, we’re told by those in high office to fear each other, and to turn on each other,” Obama said, adding that he believes the country is being told that “some Americans count more than others” while others “don’t even count at all.”
He also criticized what he described as a culture where negative traits are rewarded.
“Everywhere we see greed and bigotry being celebrated and bullying and mocker masquerading as strength,” Obama said.
At another point in his remarks, Obama acknowledged that the current climate can make it difficult to maintain optimism.
“It’s hard to hope in those moments,” he said.
Still, Obama said Jackson’s life and legacy offer a different example, urging Americans to follow the civil rights leader’s path of activism and perseverance.
“But this man, Rev. Jesse Jackson, inspires us to take a harder path,” Obama said. “His voice calls on each of us to be heralds of change, to be messengers of hope.”
Obama’s remarks appeared to echo themes from his 2008 presidential campaign, when the message of hope became a central part of his political identity.
Biden, who served as Obama’s vice president before later becoming president himself, followed Obama at the podium and delivered his own brief criticism of the current administration.
“We got an administration that doesn’t share any of the values that we have, and I don’t think I’m exaggerating a little bit,” Biden said.
He also reflected on Jackson’s influence and character.
“Jesse was a force of nature like few others before him,” Biden said, adding that the civil rights leader had a clear sense of the country’s ideals and continually pushed Americans to live up to them.
President Trump also commented publicly on Jackson’s death, offering condolences to his family in a post on Truth Social.
“Jesse was a force of nature like few others before him,” Trump wrote. “He had much to do with the Election, without acknowledgment or credit, of Barack Hussein Obama, a man who Jesse could not stand.”
Trump also extended sympathy to Jackson’s family.
“He loved his family greatly, and to them I send my deepest sympathies and condolences,” Trump wrote. “Jesse will be missed.”
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