Barack Obama used to be the king of the Democrat Party.
Those days are long gone.
And all hell broke loose when Whoopi Goldberg heard Barack Obama make one demand that sent her over the edge.
Obama tells Democrats to stop whining and get to work
Barack Obama was once the unquestioned leader of the Democrat Party who could silence any critic with a single word.
But Donald Trump’s landslide victory over Kamala Harris changed everything.
Now even the hosts of The View think they can challenge the former President.
Obama delivered a reality check to his fellow Democrats during a fundraiser in New Jersey hosted by Governor Phil Murphy.
He told the party faithful that it was time to stop "whining" and actually accomplish something for the American people.
"I think it’s going to require a little bit less navel-gazing and a little less whining and being in fetal positions. And it’s going to require Democrats to just toughen up," Obama stated.¹
The former President didn’t stop there.
Obama called out Democrats for failing to deliver policies that actually improve people’s lives instead of just virtue signaling on social media.
"You want to deliver for people and make their lives better? You got to figure out how to do it," Obama continued.¹
Obama even criticized Democrats for supporting anti-growth zoning policies that make it impossible for working-class Americans to buy homes.
"I don’t care how much you love working people. They can’t afford a house because all the rules in your state make it prohibitive to build. And zoning prevents multifamily structures because of NIMBY," Obama added.¹
He drove the point home by saying ideology doesn’t matter if you can’t actually build anything.
"I don’t want to know your ideology, because you can’t build anything. It does not matter," Obama stated.¹
Whoopi Goldberg goes to war with Obama
Obama’s tough love approach didn’t sit well with The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg.
A decade ago, it would’ve been unthinkable for Goldberg to publicly challenge Obama.
But Trump’s two Presidential victories have completely discredited the Obama version of the Democrat Party.
Goldberg attacked Obama for suggesting Democrats should do more than just complain on social media about Trump.
She tried to claim that Democrats have been actively fighting Trump instead of just whining.
"Let me remind everybody who was out on the front lines marching when we had the giant marches that went on, it was the people, the people went out! They were not navel-gazing!" Goldberg said.²
Goldberg pointed to protests that almost no American remembers taking place as proof that Democrats have been engaged.
"It was older people who were saying, ‘Why are you touching my Social Security?’ It was not people whining. It was about people saying, ‘Why are you taking these rights from my child when my child was born here?’ This has not been about Democrats laying back," she continued.²
The View co-host took direct aim at Obama, claiming he was targeting the wrong people with his criticism.
"Democrats have been angry at what this man tried to do the last time. They’ve been angry this time. So, I — with much due respect to you both — I believe you are pointing the finger at the wrong person when you say Democrats," Goldberg added.²
The Democrat civil war is just getting started
Six months into Trump’s second term, the Democrat Party is in complete chaos.
They have no clear leaders and there’s open civil war over how to respond to Trump’s agenda.
Some Democrats want to work with Trump on issues like infrastructure and trade.
Others want to resist everything he does no matter what.
Goldberg represents the wing of the party that thinks screaming about Trump on daytime television counts as political activism.
Obama represents the wing that realizes Democrats need to actually accomplish something if they want to win elections.
This split is tearing the party apart from the inside.
The fact that a daytime talk show host feels comfortable publicly challenging a former President shows just how far the Democrat Party has fallen.
Obama used to be able to unite the party behind his vision.
Now he can’t even get The View hosts to listen to him.
Trump’s victories have exposed all the internal tensions that Obama’s charisma used to paper over.
The Democrat Party is now learning the hard way that good feelings and celebrity endorsements don’t win elections.
Results do.
And until Democrats figure out how to deliver results instead of just Twitter outrage, they’re going to keep losing to Trump and his America First agenda.
¹ Barack Obama, fundraiser speech, New Jersey, July 11, 2025
² Whoopi Goldberg, The View, ABC, July 15, 2025
