Former President Barack Obama’s familiar tone of admonition is no longer resonating with key segments of the Democratic base, according to CNN contributor and journalist Lulu Garcia-Navarro.
Speaking during a panel on CNN’s The Arena Monday, Garcia-Navarro responded to Obama’s recent comments at a closed-door fundraiser, saying his message came across as “scoldy” and out of step with the political mood of the moment.
Obama’s remarks, delivered Friday evening at a private event hosted by outgoing New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and his wife Tammy, included calls for Democrats to show grit, stop folding under pressure, and defend core democratic principles like free speech—even when it’s uncomfortable. But Garcia-Navarro argued that this now-signature style of public chastisement feels increasingly tone-deaf to those Democrats the party most urgently needs to energize.
“I‘ll also say from having read that speech that he gave, he was pretty scoldy. He is very scoldy these days,” she said. “He talked a lot about how people are not stepping up and doing their part and how people have been folding and not really standing up tall.”
While Obama intended his message as a motivational call to action, Garcia-Navarro pointed out that it may alienate rather than mobilize voters—especially younger and minority voters, who have become more skeptical of establishment voices. She cited Obama’s past appeals to Black male voters, particularly his urging that they vote in solidarity with a Black female candidate, as an example of this disconnect.
“I just don‘t think that that goes down very well anymore,” she added. “That kind of scoldy Obama really doesn‘t play to the Democratic base anymore.”
Obama’s comments come amid broader efforts by Democrats to recover from their 2024 defeats and prepare a more cohesive strategy heading into the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential election.
His speech included an appeal for engagement, saying, “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 also doubled down on defending free speech, calling for courage in the face of disagreement: “You stand up for free speech when it’s hard. When somebody says something that you don’t like, but you still say, ‘You know what, that person has the right to speak.’”