this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2026
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“There is an element of, at some point, you age out,” the former president said.

Former President Barack Obama is urging the Democratic Party to invest in younger candidates if it wants to come out victorious in the 2026 midterm elections and, eventually, the 2028 presidential election.

In an interview with YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen that was published Saturday, the 64-year-old said part of the reason his own elections were so successful was because he was young at the time.

“I’m a pretty healthy 64, feel great, but the truth is, half of the references that my daughters make about social media, TikTok and such, I don’t know who they’re talking about,” he said. “There is an element of, at some point, you age out. You’re not connected directly to the immediate struggles that folks are going through.”

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[–] Astrius@lemmy.ml 15 points 1 day ago (2 children)

No, it is because the Democrats haven’t represented the working class in decades.

[–] timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.works 4 points 21 hours ago

Neither have the Republicans but that hasn't stopped them.

Por qué no los dos? In all seriousness, most Democrats are happy with capitalism and capitalism is waiting to grind you into grist.

[–] Nomad@infosec.pub 15 points 1 day ago (2 children)

this might be Obama being a friend to AOC. Laying in the foundations for her rise in the party.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 3 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

America vote a woman, latina, and young? Hilarious.

Pale male and stale wins.

[–] FE80@lemmy.world 2 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

You're talking about the guy who orchestrated the rat fucking of Bernie in 2020 for Biden. Obama is neither a friend to progressives/leftists; nor an opponent of the geriatric Democratic leadership.

[–] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 3 points 20 hours ago

It all depends on how far AOC is willing to bend over for the establishment. She has been making weird moves over the last years.

[–] switcheroo@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If I don't trust you to drive, or to not click on stupid popups, then I don't trust you to run an office-- let alone THE office that's supposed to facilitate this country's actions.

I don't trust the current "administration" to run a side of the road fruit stand, let alone the country...

[–] ravenaspiring@sh.itjust.works 1 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

By young, they mean not geriatric. Some of the candidate running in open or challenge seats. And we need more.

Nikki Foster (D) Age: 38 | Race: U.S. Senate (OH) | Background: Labor organizer and 2022 Senate candidate; running against incumbent J.D. Vance in an open-seat scenario.

Adam Gray (D) Age: 42 | Race: U.S. House (CA-13) | Background: State Assemblymember challenging Republican incumbent John Duarte in a Central Valley swing district.

Mia Janecka (D) Age: 38 | Race: U.S. House (TX-23) | Background: El Paso County prosecutor; running against Republican Tony Gonzales in a border district with shifting demographics.

Syler Roberts (D) Age: 34 | Race: U.S. House (OR-06) | Background: Climate policy advisor and Gen Z activist challenging Republican Andrea Salinas in a Portland suburbs district.

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

Compared to your Senate those are young.

[–] theuniqueone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 97 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Or you know could have something to do with unending support for billionaires and their anti-labor, pro fossil fuels, pro war agenda?

[–] FaceDeer@fedia.io 23 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The longer you're in politics, the more "connections" you make. So there may be some relationship between these things.

[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago (4 children)

It’s not like the “connections” don’t reach out to the politicians.

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[–] EmpireInDecay@lemmy.ml 26 points 2 days ago

No, it couldn't be that, it must be the voter's fault.

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

~~old~~

Entrenched

Serving their corporate masters

Playing power games to keep their jobs

Losing so the republicans win

“Old” is a symptom of being good at the above, not the actual problem.

[–] bytesonbike@discuss.online 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

A part of me wonders if Obama really wanted to say that. But then again, Obama is also part of the corporate machine.

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

He’s not going to bite the hands that come to his expensive speaking event dinners.

[–] Crunch@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

It is partly age, but is also the general establishment, I think that the party overall has become too set in their ways. They are playing a completely different game than the Republicans are, at the most of the Dem leadership is. They didn't seem to understand that the GOP is playing for keeps, these plans have been in the works for decades and now that they are out in the open they seem caught unaware for some reason.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 27 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Bernie is old af and he seems to understand shit.

[–] SabinStargem@lemmy.today 5 points 1 day ago

The man is a unicorn, unfortunately.

[–] megopie@lemmy.blahaj.zone 21 points 2 days ago (2 children)

“Huh, we just can’t seem to connect with the yonges. Clearly it’s because we don’t use TikTok enough and don’t get their slang”

No, it’s because the platforms you keep running people on are totally divorced from the interests of the constituencies you want to mobilize, and party leadership continuously torpedoes policy that is actually popular. Communicating a platform perfectly, getting the message seen by every potential voter, won’t do a thing if they don’t want what you’re promising.

Not sidelining and running hit pieces against your most energizing grassroots candidates, then trying to substitute hand picked party insiders for them would be a good start. You can win elections or you can enforce party orthodoxy, not both.

[–] JoMiran@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Isn't that what he's referring to with this quote.

“There is an element of, at some point, you age out. You’re not connected directly to the immediate struggles that folks are going through.”

His entire point wasn't that older candidates aren't in on the latest tech trends. His point is that older candidates are out of touch with "the immediate struggles that folks are going through.”

I grew up very poor, and that helps me be able to sympathize with the struggles of folk under the boot of a rigged system. I was also able to fight my way out of poverty and I have not had to live with those struggles for decades. Just because I can sympathize doesn't mean that I truly understand. I'm out of touch. The same applies to old, establishment, politicians who are decades removed from the days they struggled to help their communities.

[–] 7101334@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

You don't need to be "connected directly to the immediate struggles" to understand polling, such as that a resounding number of Democrats and Independents condemned Israel's genocide in Palestine or that a resounding number of Democrats (idk about Independents) support abolishing ICE.

They are owned by Zionists, and they are owned by private prison oligarchs. It's not because they were too old to understand. It's because they're compromised by foreign agents and moneyed interests.

[–] stoly@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (3 children)

You're making Obama's point while pretending that he missed it.

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[–] daychilde@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The primary problem is that we have allowed our oligarchs to take control of our country. The oligarchs keep these older politicians around because they tend to serve them well, but it's not really about age. It's about the corruption. Follow the money. And the money flows from the oligarchs to the politicians who take that money and then serve the oligarchs.

Do we need to fix our broken democracy? Yes, yes we do. And the first step is to break out the guillotines and handle the oligarch problem. Then sweep out all of those corrupt politicians. There's a few that I'd keep - I think folks like AOC are not taking that money. And maybe there's a Republican or two who might be the same, but I sure don't know of any, but if there are, fine, keep them if they don't support fasicsm. But sweet everyone else out. Time for a new Constitution with more protections, although you can't fully protect the people from themselves. But we need to make sure nobody can get rich enough to control the government. Make it so people can get rich, fine, just not SUPER rich. Roll out social safety nets - universal health care, univeral basic income. Protect our rights.

Can we do it? Well, maybe not. It'll take a LOT. But that's what we need to do, and the more of us that realize it and talk about it, the closer we get to any possibility of accomplishing it.

[–] 7101334@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

The oligarchs keep these older politicians around because they tend to serve them well, but it’s not really about age. It’s about the corruption.

Idk man, I agree corruption is the core issue, but from Dianne Feinstein to Joe Biden to Mitch McConnel to probably Donald Trump, I think it's almost the opposite end of the "boy king" phenomenon. Boy kings could be controlled by their advisors because they were immature and unexperienced. Senile politicians can be controlled by their advisors (who are controlled by moneyed interests) because they aren't fully lucid.

[–] EmpireInDecay@lemmy.ml 39 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Age has nothing to do with it, it's their neoliberal politics. Gavin Newsom sounds exactly like Chuck Schumer.

[–] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

Gavin newsome is only six years younger than Obama

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[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 30 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It certainly has nothing to do with the utter complacency of the party at large.

For longer than I’ve been alive, the dems have done little to stop what’s come. This was decades in the making.

Even if you don’t want to go that far back, the stuff in the Epstein files was known during Clinton and bush and Obama and Trump and Biden.

So yeah. On that one topic… both parties are literally the same.

[–] daychilde@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The commonality is corruption by our oligarchs throwing money into politics to control most of our politicians.

There's still a difference between the parties, but it's our oligarchs that have corrupted and broken our democracy, and it won't get better until we start with them.

[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I didn’t say there was no difference.

I said on the one topic of Epstein- neither party has done anything meaningful.

There’s still differences. Like one party has better hygiene.

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[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 18 points 2 days ago (2 children)
[–] 7101334@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

And the consequences of Citizens United and the recent Supreme Court decision (Snyder v. United States) that legalized bribery even further.

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Along with a host of other foreign and domestic donors paying our representatives to represent corporations and investment bankers and the like.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 5 points 1 day ago

yeah because trump would win against biden because he was a few months younger yet kamala the much younger canidate still lost to him. Granted though. Everyone over 50 should be handing over stuff to younger folks and take on more advisory roles if anything and hard cap step away at 60. 65 is a joke and part of the reason not enough younger folks have enough opportunities.

[–] InvalidName2@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 day ago

If you want younger people in office at the national level, you need to be supporting younger people at the local level. It's not a 100% pipeline, but that's a huge part of the current. And it's not just about voting for them, you need to be out there actively canvassing, campaigning, donating, and continuing that support after they get elected, if they get elected.

One problem: Younger people in many parts of the country literally cannot afford to or aren't able to make it work out. You end up with a lot of retired people in those elected positions because they have the time to run a campaign and then do the job, and the non-livable wages that these positions pay out (if they pay out at all) are just icing on the retirement income cake. But even candidates that aren't retired often have to put special effort into appealing to the retiree crowd, because those are the folks who have the most time to help support the campaign and/or money to donate.

Another issue: Young voters are, super generally speaking, not reliable voters especially when it comes to mid-terms and primaries. You can say they don't vote and don't help out with campaigns because nobody/the party doesn't appeal to them, but it's a chicken and egg issue.

Anecdotally speaking for my general area, the younger folks who run often seem to lack appeal to older folks (who do vote), have a hard time communicating their platform, and/or their platform has little to do with the position they are running for. Simply speaking, they aren't electable, either.

You can argue the older folks also aren't electable, but that doesn't change the truth. Somebody running for town council with a platform to vaguely support Palestine and regulate AI comes across as out of touch with local politics and what they could reasonably achieve compared to the older folks who want to stick to milquetoast agenda items such as to approve funding for new classrooms and expand pedestrian walkways on main street.

[–] aesthelete@lemmy.world 21 points 2 days ago

Just too old, and just too sold.

[–] Snapz@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Too old? But didn't you see Kamala Harris launched Project 6-7 or whatever the other day. She probably even smelled a jazz cigarette!

[–] Sunflier@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

She started her campaign really late. It was basically half over when Biden got out of the race and she got started. Not only did it look bad but, by then, she couldn't really get the forces moving. Dems really stumbled on the mid-game change out, and she couldn't seperate herself from the stuttering (made him seem senile)—especially after working under it for 4 years. He should have stuck with being one term and gone out to pasture with the rest of the ancients.

Thats all on top of her making the age-old mistake that all dems make: they start out appealing to the left, but then they run to the right. On such a short click, she had no discernible platform. The "I'm not Trump" platform was top notch, but it wasn't enough to get people to show up at the poles.

[–] daychilde@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

It doesn't help that the oligarchs control our media, so Republicans get pass after pass after pass, but Democrats get put under the microscope. (And it doesn't help that our oligarchs have corrupted most politicians even on "both sides", but that doesn't mean there isn't still a difference between the parties, just that we need to clean house on both sides......)

[–] ClassStruggle@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 day ago

The person you are replying to is talking about her current pandering that's happened in the last month

[–] Snapz@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

There were also the two obvious things that actually mattered to the outcome of that election that you just didn't menton at all?

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Huh, look at that.

I wonder if the people that attack Obama from the left but also buy into the ageism that seems to be all the rage now (I mean, surely it's not a plot from the Epstein Class to have everyone infighting at the bottom level and not look up, right? Divvying people up even further by generations and microgenerations resulting in even more atomization than we have already creates lots and lots of solidarity, right? ) will have any epiphany here.

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 8 points 2 days ago

I mean... it's mainly corruption but I do think a 75 year old guy will struggle to understand the needs of current teens and prepare the country to serve them well as they try to find their place in it.

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