The son of the late civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson publicly rebuked former Presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Bill Clinton. He called them out for turning his father’s memorial service into a platform to attack Donald Trump.
Jesse Jackson’s son calls out Barack Obama over Trump comments
During a private service honoring the legendary activist, Jesse Jackson Jr. called out the political tone struck by the three Democratic presidents who came to give eulogies the previous day. “Yesterday, I listened for several hours to three United States presidents who do not know Jesse Jackson,” the grieving son said.
Jackson Jr. suggested the former presidents missed the essence of his father’s lifelong mission by injecting partisan politics into the celebration of his life. “He maintained a tense relationship with the political order, not because the presidents were white or black, but the demands of our message. The demands of speaking for the least of these – those who are disinherited, the damned, the dispossessed, the disrespected – demanded not Democratic or Republican solutions, but demanded a consistent, prophetic voice that at no point in time ever sold us out as people,” Jackson Jr. said.
The criticism follows Obama’s remarks that veered into current politics. “Each day, we’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’t even count at all,” Obama said during his eulogy. “Everywhere we see greed and bigotry, being celebrated and bullying and mockery masquerading as strength. It’s hard to hope in those moments (via New York Post).”
Biden also used his remarks to take aim at the current administration. He claimed Trump’s team doesn’t share “any of the values that we have.” In addition, Former Vice President Kamala Harris told mourners she “predicted a lot about what’s happening right now. But what I did not predict is that we would not have Jesse Jackson with us right now to help us get through this.” However, Trump was not in attendance.
