Jesse Jackson Jr. Blasts Ex-Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden for Using Father's Memorial Service to Trash Donald Trump
Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden have been slammed by Jesse Jackson Jr.
March 9 2026, Published 1:18 p.m. ET
Jesse Jackson Jr. called out former presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden for using his father's memorial service to slam Donald Trump.
RadarOnline.com can reveal Jackson Jr., 60, gave his thoughts on the trio during a private ceremony for his father, who died last month at 84 – and he made it clear their attacks on Trump were not appreciated.
'I Listened to Three Presidents Who Do Not Know Jesse Jackson'
Jackson Jr. laid into the trio while attending a private funeral for his father.
Jackson Jr. said, "Yesterday, I listened for several hours to three United States presidents who do not know Jesse Jackson."
"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."
"And it speaks volumes about who the Rev. Jesse Jackson was," he added.
What Did Obama Say About Trump?
Obama said 'everyday you wake up to things you just didn't think were possible' under Trump.
Rev. Jackson passed away at his Chicago home after a long struggle with neurological illness.
He was a towering figure in American civil rights who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., mounted two historic presidential campaigns and built one of the nation's most influential social justice organizations.
At Friday's memorial service at House of Hope, former President Obama warned mourners about what he described as the nation's fragile political climate.
"Each day we wake up to some new assault on our democratic institutions," Obama said. "Another setback to the idea of the rule of law, an offense to common decency, everyday you wake up to things you just didn't think were possible."
He noted: "Each day, we're told by those in high office to fear each other and to turn on each other."
What Trump Warnings Did Biden and Kamala Harris Fire Off?
Biden said the Trump administration does not share 'any of the values that we have.'
Former President Biden also drew political lines, telling the crowd the Trump administration does not share "any of the values that we have."
Additionally, former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the 2024 election to Trump, referenced her own campaign warnings.
"I'm not into saying I told you so, but we did see it coming," Harris said. "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, ex-President Bill Clinton kept his remarks largely personal, remembering Jackson as a friend and reflecting on their conversations during his impeachment fight.
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President Trump did not attend Friday's funeral.
President Trump did not attend the memorial.
Jackson Jr.'s criticism was especially pointed because he had publicly pleaded for politics to be left outside the memorial.
"Do not bring your politics out of respect to Rev. Jesse Jackson, and the life that he lived, to these ongoing services," he said during February press conference following his father's death. "Come respectful, and come to say thank you."
"But these ongoing services are welcome to ALL - Democrat, Republican, liberal, and conservative. Right-wing, left-wing," he continued. "Because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American."
