By Katherine Tinsley
1:25pm PDT, Jul 15, 2025
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"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," Barack Obama told donors of how Democrats can reclaim power from Donald Trump and the GOP in the 2026 midterm elections.
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Many Democrats have expressed their disappointment with the party since the 2024 election, which resulted in a shift in political engagement, according to Barack Obama. "What I have been surprised by is the degree to which I've seen people who, when I was president — 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," the former president said.
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Barack Obama pushed for Democrats to continue to stand by their beliefs. "Don't tell me you're a Democrat but you're kind of disappointed right now so you're not doing anything," he said. "Don't say that you care deeply about free speech and then you're quiet. No, you stand up for free speech when it's hard. When somebody says something that you don't like, you still say, 'You know what, that person has the right to speak.' … What's needed now is courage."
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While Donald Trump has been critical of the former president, Barack Obama continues to preserve presidential traditions by attending inaugurations and accepting election results.
