Barack Obama launched a ferocious rebuke to Donald Trump’s America claiming it is stained by ‘bigotry, corruption and dishonesty’ at the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s funeral on Friday.
The former president was applauded and cheered as he told the congregation ‘we are living in a time when it can be hard to hope’ at a packed church in his old stomping ground on the South Side of Chicago.
Obama said: ‘Each day we wake up to some new assault on our democratic institutions, another setback to the idea of the rule of law, an offense to common decency, everyday you wake up to things you just didn’t think were possible.’
Obama said those in power are using ‘fear’ to make people ‘turn on each other, and that some Americans count more than others and that some don’t even count at all.’
The attack comes just weeks after Trump uploaded a video which depicted Obama and his wife Michelle as apes. The President claimed he was unaware of the clip which appeared at the end of a longer video about voter fraud.
Obama added: ‘Everywhere we see greed and bigotry being celebrated and bullying and mockery masquerading as strength … while ignorance and dishonesty, and cruelty and corruption are are reaping untold rewards every single day.’
The former president’s voice cracked with emotion as he concluded his address by turning back to Jackson, urging the faithful: ‘Do not wait for the storm to pass.’
‘If we don’t step up no-one else will,’ Obama said through tears. ‘How fortunate we were that Jesse Jackson answered that call, what a great debt we owe to him.’
Former President Barack Obama speaks during the Public Homegoing Service for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to host a round table on collegiate sports in the White House in Washington, DC, March 6
Responding to the attack, White House spokesman Steven Cheung told the Daily Mail: ‘Barack Hussein Obama is a classless moron who clearly suffers from a debilitating and severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his brain.
‘He is a total disgrace for all the hurt he has caused this country and history will not judge him well.’
Trump has been criticized for his frequent attacks on federal judges across the country, and even the conservative Justices of the Supreme Court when they struck down his tariffs last month.
Democrats have claimed that Trump has pitted Americans against each other in his deadly immigration crackdown, during which two US citizens were shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis in January.
Trump is also accused of enriching his own family and friends as his administration has blended politics with business, including international real estate deals in the Middle East and a luxury jet from Qatar.
Obama, who attended Jackson’s funeral without his wife Michelle, was seen earlier sharing laughs in the front row with Bill Clinton and Joe Biden, joined by their wives former secretary of state Hillary and Jill.
Jackson, remembered as a ‘living bridge’ between the era of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and modern civil rights movements, died on February 17 aged 84 after a battle with a rare neurological disorder.
Trump, who praised Jackson on social media after his death and shared photos of the two together, was absent, his public schedule confirmed.
Reverend Jesse Jackson speaks at a rally outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York, December 10, 2007
Guests, including former presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, attend a celebration of life service for civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. at the House of Hope arena
Former President Barack Obama gestures to Gavin Newsom at the funeral for Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday
Former presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham and former first lady Dr. Jill Biden attend a celebration of life service for civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. at the House of Hope arena on March 6
Seated a few rows to Obama’s right were Kamala Harris and directly behind him California Governor Gavin Newsom. The pair are being widely tipped to launched bids for the White House in 2028.
The eventual nominee will be hoping for a heavyweight endorsement from Obama, whose reluctance to back Harris until the eleventh hour proved prescient in her defeat to Trump.
Clinton and Biden received cheers and applause as they arrived, but it was ‘the South Side’s own, President Barack Obama,’ as an announcer described him, who received the loudest round of applause as he entered the chamber.
Inside, vendors sold pins bearing Jackson’s 1984 presidential slogan and hoodies carrying his ‘I Am Somebody’ mantra, while a choir sang as attendees photographed a large panel emblazoned with his rallying cry: ‘Keep hope alive.’
Along with a slew of Illinois elected leaders, notable attendees included actor and producer Tyler Perry, and political activist and theologian Cornel West.
Among the crowd was Mary Lovett, 90, who said Jackson’s advocacy had inspired her across a lifetime, from her move from Mississippi to Chicago in the 1960s through her years teaching elementary school and raising a family.
Governor of Illinois JB Pritzker attends a memorial service to celebrate the life of the civil rights leader, Reverend Jesse Jackson, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., March 6
Tyler Perry attends the Public Homegoing Service for Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday
Cornel West attends a memorial service to celebrate the life of the civil rights leader, Reverend Jesse Jackson, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., March 6
She voted for Jackson in both his presidential runs and appreciated how he always spoke up for underrepresented people.
‘He’s gone, but I hope his legacy lives,’ Lovett said. ‘I hope we can remember what he tried to teach us.’
Marketing professional Chelsia Bryan said she came because it was ‘a chance to be part of something historic.’
‘As a black woman, knowing that someone pretty much gave their life, dedicated their life to make sure I can do the things that I can do now, he’s worth honoring,’ Bryan said.
Jesse Jackson Jr. said all were welcome to celebrate his father’s life.
‘Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative, right wing, left wing because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American,’ Jackson Jr. said last month. ‘Dad would have wanted us to have a great meeting to discuss our differences, to find ways of moving forward and moving together.’
Jackson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2017 and spent his final months battling progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare disorder that robbed him of his mobility and ability to speak.
Family members said he continued coming into the office until last year, communicating through hand signals. His final public appearance was at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich attends a celebration of life service for civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. at the House of Hope arena on March 6
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks during the Public Homegoing Service for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday
Governor of Illinois JB Pritzker speaks during a memorial service to celebrate the life of the civil rights leader, Reverend Jesse Jackson, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., March 6
California Governor Gavin Newsom greets attendees during the Public Homecoming and celebration of life for civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson in Chicago, Illinois, on March 6
Rev. Al Sharpton speaks with Jesse Jackson Jr. before the start of a celebration of life ceremony for Jackson’s father, civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson
Guests, including former presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham and former first lady Dr. Jill Biden attend a celebration of life service for civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.
From left, former President Bill Clinton and former President Barack Obama attend the Public Homegoing Service for Reverend Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday
Chicago Cubs Chairman Thomas Ricketts speaks at a celebration of life service for civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson
The casket with the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives for the Public Homegoing Service at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday
Former basketball player Isaiah Thomas speaks at a public memorial service to celebrate the life of civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson in Chicago
Judge Greg Mathis speaks during the Public Homegoing Service for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday
His son, Yusef Jackson, who runs the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, recalled how his father carried a well-worn Bible but also showed his faith by showing up to picket lines.
‘He lived a revolutionary Christian faith rooted in justice, nonviolence and the moral righteousness,’ Yusef said Friday.
‘He was deeply involved in the political struggles of his time, but his gift was that he could rise above them. It’s not about the left wing or the right wing. It takes two wings to fly. For him, the goal was always the moral center.’
Services in Chicago and South Carolina drew civic leaders, school groups and ordinary mourners touched by his work, from scholarship programs to prison advocacy. Several states flew flags at half-staff in his honor.
A Washington, DC service was shelved after House Speaker Mike Johnson denied a request for Jackson to lie in honor in the Capitol rotunda, saying the space is typically reserved for former presidents and select officials. No details on a future event have been made public.
Jackson was a close associate of MLK in the 1960s, joining the Selma-to-Montgomery marches in 1965 where he caught King’s attention, and was present at his assassination in Memphis in 1968.
He went on to mount two landmark presidential campaigns, in 1984 and 1988, becoming the first Black candidate to win multiple primary contests in a major party race.
As a diplomatic envoy he secured the release of American prisoners from Syria, Iraq and Serbia.
He founded the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in 1996, which became a vehicle for pressuring corporate America on diversity, and served as President Clinton’s special envoy for Africa.
He is survived by his wife and six children.
