Former President Barack Obama issued a call to action for Democrats at a private fundraiser in New Jersey on Friday evening, urging those frustrated by the state of the country under President\u00a0Donald Trump\u00a0to \u201cstand up for the things that you think are right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s going to require a little bit less navel-gazing and a little less whining and being in fetal positions. And it\u2019s going to require Democrats to just toughen up,\u201d Obama said at the fundraiser, according to excerpts of his remarks exclusively obtained by CNN.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, don\u2019t tell me you\u2019re a Democrat, but you\u2019re kind of disappointed right now, so you\u2019re not doing anything. No, now is exactly the time that you get in there and do something,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t say that you care deeply about free speech and then you\u2019re quiet. No, you stand up for free speech when it\u2019s hard. When somebody says something that you don\u2019t like, but you still say, \u2018You know what, that person has the right to speak.\u2019 \u2026 What\u2019s needed now is courage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Obama\u2019s comments come as the Democratic Party searches\u00a0for its path forward\u00a0in the second Trump term and beyond. Many in the party\u2019s base have called for a more forceful response from Democratic leaders at a time when the party is locked out of power.<\/p>\n
As Democrats debate who should lead the party, Obama encouraged them to channel their energy into the governor\u2019s races\u00a0in New Jersey\u00a0and\u00a0Virginia, saying the off-year elections could be \u201ca big jumpstart for where we need to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStop looking for the quick fix. Stop looking for the messiah. You have great candidates running races right now. Support those candidates,\u201d Obama said, calling out the New Jersey and Virginia elections, according to the excerpts of his remarks.<\/p>\n
\u201cMake sure that the DNC has what it needs to compete in what will be a more data-driven, more social media-driven cycle, which will cost some money and expertise and time,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
Obama spoke at a private fundraiser hosted by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and his wife, Tammy Murphy, at their home in Red Bank, New Jersey. The intimate dinner drew in $2.5 million through in-person and online donations for the Democratic National Committee, a source familiar with the event said.<\/p>\n
A portion of the haul will be allocated to Democratic efforts in the governor\u2019s race in New Jersey. The Democratic nominee, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, and and DNC Chair Ken Martin were on hand for the event.<\/p>\n
Obama described Sherrill and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for governor in Virginia, as \u201cpowerful spokespersons for a pragmatic, commonsense desire to help people and who both have remarkable track records of service.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most important thing you can do right now is to help the team, our candidate to win,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve got to start building up our coffers in the DNC.\u201d<\/p>\n
Obama also argued that Democrats need to focus on how to \u201cdeliver for people,\u201d acknowledging the different views within the party about how best to do that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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