Obama Won’t Save Democrats in 2024: NYT Opinion
- Barack Obama is unlikely to ride to the Democratic Party's rescue, according to New York times columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom.
- Cottom pointed to anti-ICE protests in cities such as Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Raleigh, N.C., as examples of self-led movements.
- Cottom suggested that president Donald Trump has steered the nation into "dangerous territory" by deploying the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, creating a moment...
Tressie McMillan Cottom’s new york Times opinion piece dismantles the notion that Barack obama will rescue Democrats after their 2024 defeat, arguing against reliance on national figures. Cottom champions grassroots activism over waiting for a savior and highlights the current leadership vacuum within the Democratic Party, exposed by Kamala Harris’s defeat, as a key problem. She believes change must emerge from local movements, offering examples of anti-ICE protests as evidence. The article probes the Democratic Party’s search for new leadership in response to a changing media landscape,while also assessing Obama’s legacy and its relevance to contemporary political challenges. Find more analysis and insight into the next steps at News Directory 3. Discover what’s next for the Democrats.
Obama Unlikely to Rescue Democrats as Party Struggles for Leadership
Updated June 13, 2025
Barack Obama is unlikely to ride to the Democratic Party’s rescue, according to New York times columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom.
she argues that Democrats yearning for Obama to save them appear “undignified” following their 2024 defeat.
Cottom believes change will emerge from the streets, not from above.
Cottom pointed to anti-ICE protests in cities such as Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Raleigh, N.C., as examples of
self-led movements. “Only direct, sustained protest will protect us,” she wrote.
Cottom suggested that president Donald Trump has steered the nation into “dangerous territory” by deploying the
National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, creating a moment significant enough to warrant Obama’s intervention.
However, she believes the Democratic party lacks leadership after Kamala Harris’s 2024 loss.
While Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., offer “glimmers
of a charismatic party head waiting in the wings,” Cottom gave Obama’s presidency a mixed review from a liberal
standpoint, calling him a “product of his times.”
Cottom diagnosed the belief that Obama will return to save the party as “Obama Derangement Syndrome” (ODS). She
contends that even if Obama re-entered the political arena, he would struggle to compete in the current “outrage
era” dominated by social media algorithms and big tech monopolies.
She stated, ”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. That’s the bell that those with
O.D.S. imagine Obama can unring.”
Cottom argued that the Democratic Party’s quest for a “charismatic preacher” has led to calls for a left-wing Joe
Rogan or a politician with Trump’s entertainment skills to promote their 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, highlighting Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter and
its impact on conservative discourse.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images;; Right: CAMILLE COHEN/AFP via Getty Images)
What’s next
The Democratic Party faces the challenge of identifying and cultivating new leadership to resonate in a rapidly
changing media landscape, while also encouraging grassroots movements to address pressing social issues.