After the Democrats lost the 2024 electionformer US President Barack Obama addressed the Obama Foundation‘s Democracy Forum on Thursday for the first time since the election, discussing political polarization and the importance of pluralism. His comments drew criticism from conservatives on social media.
During his speech, Obama argued that a line is crossed when one side tries to maintain power by suppressing votes, politicizing the military, or using the judicial and criminal justice systems against opponents.
“Pluralism is not about holding hands and singing ‘Kumbaya.’ It is not about abandoning your convictions and folding when things get tough,” Obama said. “It is about recognizing that, in a democracy, power comes from forging alliances and building coalitions and making room in those coalitions not only for the woke, but the waking. Purity tests are not a recipe for long-term success,” he added.
Conservative and Republican users responded to Obama’s remarks on social media platform X.
Journalist Miranda Devine wrote, “It’s over for Obama. The spell is broken. Donald Trump vanquished him, Biden, Harris, the Bushes, the Cheneys. All of them, with a spring in his step.”
Other criticisms came from Matt Whitlockwho said, “Obama turned our politics into ‘if you disagree with me, you are a bad person.’ Few people did more to pave the way for Trump. So he can take a seat.”
Fox News contributor Guy Benson added, “Setting aside the unbelievable hypocrisy here, this is also the guy who’s launching a project to lessen our political divisions. Being the problem — way up on his high horse, looking down disappointedly at the unwashed masses — while publicly lamenting the problem is peak Obama.”
Radio host Buck Sexton commented, “Ever since his last minute desperate smear of Trump with the ‘very fine people on both sides’ lie, Barack Obama has been slowing realizing his status as false prophet of the Democrat party is no more.”
Author Jon Gabriel remarked, “By voting in a democratic election, millions of people proved they hate democracy. Yes, this Obama fellow is quite the intellect.”
