Former President Barack Obama delivered a blistering attack on Donald Trump’s America during Rev. Jesse Jackson’s funeral, warning the nation is being stained by “bigotry, corruption and dishonesty.”
Obama spoke before a packed church on Chicago’s South Side as mourners gathered to honor Jackson, the longtime civil rights leader and former Democratic presidential candidate who died at 84 after battling progressive supranuclear palsy.
The former president told the congregation that the political climate has left many Americans struggling to remain optimistic.
“We are living in a time when it can be hard to hope,” Obama told the crowd of mourners.
He argued that American institutions are under constant pressure.
“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.
Obama suggested fear is being used to divide Americans and warned that political leaders are telling some citizens that they “count more than others” while others “don’t even count at all.”
Jackson’s funeral brought together a large group of prominent Democratic figures and longtime allies.
Former President Bill Clinton attended the service alongside former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Kamala Harris and civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton.
President Trump did not attend the funeral. He instead hosted a collegiate sports roundtable at the White House while sharing earlier social media posts praising Jackson and posting photos of the two together.
Obama returned repeatedly to Jackson’s legacy during the service.
“Everywhere we see greed and bigotry being celebrated and bullying and mocker masquerading as strength … while ignorance and dishonesty, and cruelty and corruption are reaping untold rewards every single day,” Obama claimed.
The former president paused several times during his remarks and appeared emotional. “It’s hard to hope in those moments,” Obama said.
He credited Jackson with challenging Americans to demand more from their leaders.
“If we don’t step up no-one else will. How fortunate we were that Jesse Jackson answered that call, what a great debt we owe to him,” Obama added.
Obama also framed Jackson’s life as a model for political activism.
“But this man, Rev. Jesse Jackson, inspires us to take a harder path. His voice calls on each of us to be heralds of change, to be messengers of hope,” Obama said.
🚨 VENEZUELAN DICTATOR NICOLAS MADURO IN U.S. CUSTODY 🚨 Do you AGREE Trump made America STRONG again??? ➡️➡️➡️ TAKE THE FREEDOM POLL NOW and stand with President Trump!!!🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
The speech came weeks after Trump shared a video online depicting Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
The president later claimed he had not noticed the clip, which appeared at the end of a longer video focused on voter fraud.
Former President Joe Biden followed Obama at the funeral and delivered his own criticism of the current administration.
🚨 LMAO! Democrats just rolled out Joe Biden to trash Trump, but in reality, Biden accidentally ENDORSED Trump
“We're in a tough spot, folks—we've got an administration that doesn't share ANY of the values that we have”
Yup! No more illegal invasion and no more transing kids!… pic.twitter.com/iQPEpObjL7
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 6, 2026
Biden told the audience the country faces a difficult political moment.
“We got an administration that doesn’t share any of the values that we have, and I don’t think I’m exaggerating a little bit,” Biden accused.
He praised Jackson for holding the Democratic Party accountable during decades of political activism.
Jackson “knew who we were at our best, that he simply refused to let us off the hook as a party, as a nation, or as individuals,” Biden remarked.
Biden also reflected on personal struggles growing up with a speech impediment.
He described being mocked as a child for his stutter and explained how people often assume speech disorders reflect a lack of intelligence.
Joe Biden just told the attendees at Jesse Jackson's memorial service that they’re dumb
"I am a hell of a lot smarter than most of you."pic.twitter.com/0lGmzCsWff
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 6, 2026
“If I told you I had a cleft palate or clubfoot, none of you would have laughed,” Biden said.
“But it’s OK to laugh at stuttering. … It’s the one place where people think you’re stupid.”
He then made a stunningly callous remark to the crowd.
“Oh, really? I’m a h— of a lot smarter than most of you,” Biden said before shifting back to his point about how ridicule can leave people feeling small.
Later in his remarks Biden oddly made a prediction about global population trends.
“The continent of Africa is going to be the largest continent in the world in terms of population of the year 2050, the largest in the entire world. Watch, man. Watch,” Biden said.
Jackson’s funeral unfolded as another political controversy involving the former president resurfaced in Washington.
🔥🚨BREAKING: Joe Biden left a stadium full of Black people speechless during Jesse Jackson’s funeral when he announced Africa is going to be the ‘largest continent by the year 2050.’
This statement left everyone stunned because Biden failed to cite how Africa was going to grow… pic.twitter.com/DETxToeI6J
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) March 6, 2026
The Department of Justice dropped its investigation into claims that Biden and his aides improperly used an autopen to sign official documents during the final years of his presidency.
U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro’s office had overseen the inquiry.
The probe ended after investigators failed to build a criminal case, according to reports citing people briefed on the matter.
Trump had ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House counsel to examine the circumstances surrounding Biden’s use of the autopen.
The directive called for investigators to review “the circumstances surrounding Biden’s purported execution of the numerous executive actions during his final years in office, examining policy documents signed with an autopen, who authorized its use, and the validity of the resulting Presidential policy decisions.”
The order also sought to determine “whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden’s mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President.”
Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee launched their own inquiry into the issue last year.
The panel released a 100‑page report examining Biden’s use of the autopen but did not identify a specific instance where the device was used without his approval.
The report claimed Biden verbally authorized the autopen for certain documents.
Biden rejected the accusations in a public statement. “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,” he said.
“I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations,” Biden said. “Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”
The former president later dismissed the allegations in an interview. “They’ve lied so consistently about almost everything they’re doing,” Biden claimed.
“The best thing they can do is try to change the focus and focus on something else. And this is a — I think that’s what this is about.”
