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New York Times columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom said Friday that former President Barack Obama will not be coming to Democrats' collective rescue as the party struggles to find national leadership in the wake of their stinging defeat in 2024.
Cottom argued that Democrats desperate for Obama to save the party are "undignified" and weak, asserting that change will not come from above, but rather from "the streets."
"We must start asking how we can save ourselves. We are seeing the start of that in places like Los Angeles, San Antonio and Raleigh, N.C.," she wrote, referencing the anti-ICE protests occurring across the country. "Only direct, sustained protest will protect us."
The Times columnist claimed that President Donald Trump has led the country into "dangerous territory" by deploying the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, suggesting the moment feels significant enough to warrant Obama’s intervention.
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Former President Barack Obama is one of the Democratic Party's most popular figures. (Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
She noted that the social media murmurs and essays questioning Obama's whereabouts at such a pivotal moment speak to an accepted truth: "The Democratic Party lacks leadership" in the wake of Kamala Harris' 2024 defeat.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., offer "glimmers of a charismatic party head waiting in the wings," she wrote. While Obama may feel like a good option, she wrote, she gave his presidency a mixed review from a liberal perspective, saying he was a "product of his times."
Cottom diagnosed those who believe that Obama will come back to save the party with "Obama Derangement Syndrome" (ODS). She argued that even if Obama did make his return to the political arena, he would have a difficult time competing in the "outrage era" of social media algorithms and big tech monopolies.
Donald Trump's defeat of Kamala Harris in 2024 has left Democrats searching for a true leader. (Left: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images;; Right: CAMILLE COHEN/AFP via Getty Images)
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"Anyone who has talked to a stranger about the news knows how our shared reality has deteriorated. It’s not just the uninformed. It’s the ill informed who believe A.I.-generated videos, share political memes about stolen elections and engage in the most unhinged political infotainment imaginable," she stated. "That’s the bell that those with O.D.S. imagine Obama can unring."
She contended that the Democratic Party's search for a "charismatic preacher" is what has led to the "silly calls" for a Joe Rogan of the left — or a politician with entertainment chops like Trump to sell their political message.
"If we assume that the left is a coherent ideology with committed adherents — and I would argue that is debatable — it does not need a Rogan. It needs a Spotify," Cottom declared, reinforcing her argument by pointing out what Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter has done for conservative discourse online.
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Former President Barack Obama speaks at a rally. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
In The Atlantic this week, writer Mark Leibovich quoted progressives who felt Obama was too absent given the gravity of countering Trump.
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"No matter how brazen Trump becomes, the most effective communicator in the Democratic Party continues to opt for minimal communication. His 'audacity of hope' presidency has given way to the fierce lethargy of semi-retirement," he wrote.