Journalist and CNN contributor Lulu Garcia-Navarro said on CNN Monday that former President Barack Obama’s signature style of public chastisement falls flat with the modern Democratic Party base.

Obama urged Democrats to show more grit and quit dwelling on internal frustrations, calling for the party to embrace free speech, even when it’s uncomfortable. During a panel discussion on “The Arena,” Garcia-Navarro criticized Obama’s rhetoric, saying his tone has become increasingly chastising.

“I‘ll also say from having read that speech that he gave, he was pretty scoldy. He is very scoldy these days, and he talked a lot about how people are not stepping up and doing their part and how people have been folding and not really standing up tall,” Garcia-Navarro said.

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Garcia-Navarro said Obama’s tone sounds out of touch to many voters, especially those that she said the Democratic Party needs most. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Dems ‘Learned Nothing’ By Nominating ‘Comrade Mamdani,’ Mike Johnson Says)

“And I just don‘t think that that goes down very well anymore. We saw that in the run up to the election, where he was sort of telling black men that they needed [to get] in solidarity to vote for a black woman. And I think that that kind of scoldy Obama really doesn‘t play to the Democratic base anymore,” Garcia-Navarro added.

Obama delivered his remarks Friday evening at a private fundraiser hosted by outgoing Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and his wife Tammy in Red Bank, N.J., CNN reported. His comments come as Democrats try to regroup from their 2024 losses and sharpen their messaging ahead of the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential race.

“You know, don’t tell me you’re a Democrat, but you’re kind of disappointed right now, so you’re not doing anything. No, now is exactly the time that you get in there and do something,” Obama said. “Don’t say that you care deeply about free speech and then you’re quiet. No, you stand up for free speech when it’s hard. When somebody says something that you don’t like, but you still say, ‘You know what, that person has the right to speak.’ … What’s needed now is courage.”

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