{"id":2577053,"date":"2026-03-06T18:02:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T23:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obama-says-its-hard-to-hope-in-trump-era\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T18:03:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T23:03:28","slug":"obama-says-its-hard-to-hope-in-trump-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obama-says-its-hard-to-hope-in-trump-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama says its &#8216;hard to hope&#8217; in Trump era"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fobama-says-its-hard-to-hope-in-trump-era%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2577053&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former President Barack Obama delivered a somber eulogy at Jesse Jackson\u2019s funeral in Chicago, saying that in the Trump era it\u2019s \u201chard to hope\u201d as Americans face daily assaults on democratic institutions, the rule of law, and basic decency. He criticized greed, bigotry, and the denigration of science, warning against a \u201cclown show\u201d in social media and politics. Obama credited Jackson wiht paving the way for a younger Black leader from Chicago\u2019s South Side to be taken seriously as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-biden-knows-he-messed-up-on-fracking-at-debate-and-is-now-doing-damage-control-the-daily-wire\/\" title=\"Joe Biden Knows He Messed Up On Fracking At Debate And Is Now Doing Damage Control | The Daily Wire\">presidential candidate<\/a>,and urged people to hold on to civility,courtesy,and respect for the office. He attended the service without his wife and was seated in the front row with Joe and Jill Biden to his left, and Bill and Hillary Clinton, along with Kamala Harris, nearby.<\/p>\n<p>The report also notes Obama\u2019s broader criticisms of the trump administration\u2019s actions\u2014such as redistricting pressure, responses to protests, and environmental rollbacks\u2014and references his remarks about a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/violence-breaks-out-at-l-a-spa-in-response-to-transgender-complaint\/\" title=\"Violence breaks out at L.A. spa in response to transgender complaint\">viral video depicting<\/a> him and Michelle Obama. Separately, it mentions related political news, including depositions by the Clintons before a House committee in the Epstein investigation.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Obama says its &lsquo;hard to hope&rsquo; in Trump era during Jesse Jackson funeral<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2525059\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/barack-obama\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"360\">Barack Obama<\/a> provided a dim outlook of the country during his eulogy for the late Rev. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jesse-jackson\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2647\">Jesse Jackson<\/a>, saying, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s hard to hope.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Obama told the crowd gathered at the House of Hope on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chicago\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"808\">Chicago&rsquo;s<\/a> South Side for Jackson&rsquo;s funeral that &ldquo;each day we wake up to some new assault on our democratic institutions,&rdquo; &ldquo;another setback to the idea of the rule of law,&rdquo; and &ldquo;an offense to common decency,&rdquo; alluding to President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a> and his administration.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4483261\/karoline-leavitt-denies-divisions-maga-iran-war\/\">&#8216;X is not real life&#8217;: Karoline Leavitt denies MAGA divisions over Iran war<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/sports\/4483401\/watch-live-trump-college-sports-roundtable\/\">WATCH LIVE: Trump participates in a &#8216;Saving College Sports&#8217; roundtable<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4483186\/trump-frustration-kristi-noem-ad-campaign\/\">Trump confirms frustration over Noem&#8217;s $220 million ad campaign: &#8216;Didn&#8217;t know about it&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Every day you wake up to things you just didn&rsquo;t think were possible,&rdquo; the former president said Friday. &ldquo;Each day we&rsquo;re told by those in high office to fear each other and to turn on each other, and that some Americans count more than others, and that some don&rsquo;t even count at all.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>For Obama, &ldquo;everywhere we see greed and bigotry being celebrated, and bullying and mockery masquerading as strength.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We see science and expertise denigrated, while ignorance, and dishonesty, and cruelty, and corruption are reaping untold rewards,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Every single day. We see that, and it&rsquo;s hard to hope.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Although Obama campaigned hard against Trump during all three of the incumbent&rsquo;s presidential campaigns and even before last year&rsquo;s off-year elections, he did moderate his criticism, at least publicly, during Trump&rsquo;s first term.<\/p>\n<p>However, since Trump&rsquo;s second inauguration, Obama has increased his scrutiny, particularly of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-taking-regeneron-drug-remdesivir-therapy-for-coronavirus-diagnosis-ex-wh-doctor-explains\/\" title=\"Trump taking Regeneron drug, Remdesivir therapy for coronavirus diagnosis: ex-WH doctor explains\">president&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s pressure on state legislators to redistrict mid-decade, the shooting deaths of anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement demonstrators in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/minnesota\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"443\">Minnesota<\/a> by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hypocrisy-trump-team-shows-videos-of-democrat-lawmakers-during-impeachment-trial\/\" title=\"\u2018Hypocrisy:... Trump Team Shows Videos of Democrat ...makers During Impeachment Trial\">federal law enforcement officers<\/a>, and even the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >current administration&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s dismantling of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/environmental-protection-agency\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"293\">Environmental Protection Agency&rsquo;s<\/a> 2009 Endangerment Finding.<\/p>\n<p>Obama also indirectly responded to Trump&rsquo;s sharing a video on social media last month in which he and his wife, former first lady <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/michelle-obama\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"841\">Michelle Obama<\/a>, were depicted as apes.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You know, it is true that it gets attention,&rdquo; he told YouTuber and podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s true that it&rsquo;s a distraction. But, you know, as I&rsquo;m traveling around the country, as you&rsquo;re traveling around the country, you meet people. They still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness. And there&rsquo;s this sort of clown show that&rsquo;s happening in social media and on television. And what is true is that there doesn&rsquo;t seem to be any shame about this among people who used to feel like you had to have some sort of decorum. And a sense of propriety and respect for the office, right? So that&rsquo;s been lost.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Obama on Friday did use the microphone to memorialize Jackson too, thanking the one-time civil rights activist and two-time Democratic presidential candidate for paving the &ldquo;path&rdquo; for a &ldquo;young black senator from Chicago&rsquo;s South Side &hellip; [to] be taken seriously as a candidate for the presidential nomination.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The message he sent to a 22-year-old child of a single mother with a funny name, an outsider, was that maybe there wasn&rsquo;t any place, any room, where we didn&rsquo;t belong,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Barack Obama attended the funeral without his wife, with a spokeswoman for the former first couple not responding to a request for comment as to why.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4482656\/trump-insiders-say-noem-was-long-on-chopping-block\/\"><strong>&lsquo;WHEN, NOT IF&rsquo;: TRUMP INSIDERS SAY NOEM WAS LONG ON CHOPPING BLOCK<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Barack Obama was flanked in the front row by former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"471\">Joe Biden <\/a>and former first lady <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jill-biden\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1632\">Jill Biden<\/a> to his left<span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">, and by former President&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bill-clinton\/\">Bill Clinton<\/a>&nbsp;and former Secretary of State&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hillary-clinton\/\">Hillary Clinton,<\/a><\/span>&nbsp;as well as former Vice President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"748\">Kamala Harris<\/a>, on his right.<\/p>\n<p>The Clintons appeared last week for separate depositions before the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house-oversight-committee\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1524\">House oversight committee<\/a> as part of the panel&rsquo;s investigation into convicted sex offender <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jeffrey-epstein\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1860\">Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Obama: Hope is hard in Trump era at Jackson funeral<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2652,"featured_media":2577054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP26065740306808.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[47641,11481,10423,44839,44544],"class_list":["post-2577053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-barackobama","tag-hope","tag-presidency","tag-trumpera","tag-uspolitics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP26065740306808.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2652"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2577053"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2577057,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577053\/revisions\/2577057"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2577054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2577053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2577053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2577053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}