PoliticsJesse Jackson Jr. Explodes at Barack Obama and Joe Biden for Using Father's Funeral to Shade Donald Trump

Jesse Jackson died at age 85 in February.
March 9 2026, Published 1:58 p.m. ET
Jesse Jackson's son didn't appreciate the subtle political jabs made during his father's funeral.
The late reverend's child Jesse Jackson Jr. threw shade at former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton while questioning how well they really new the civil rights activist in a speech made during a private memorial service one day after the Democratic leaders' appearances at a public event one day prior.
"Yesterday, I listened for several hours to three United States presidents who do not know Jesse Jackson," Jackson Jr. snubbed during his eulogy at Rainbow Push Coalition headquarters in Chicago on Saturday, March 7.

Jesse Jackson Jr. shaded the three remaining living Democratic presidents.
He continued, "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," the grieving son concluded.
While Clinton largely kept politics out of his speech on Friday, March 6, at the House of Hope in the Windy City, Obama and Biden used the opportunity to deliver stark warnings about the state of the nation.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden Shade Trump Administration During Jesse Jackson Eulogy

Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden all appeared in good spirits during the service.
President Donald Trump was notably not in attendance at the funeral for Jackson — who died at age 84 on February 17 inside of his Chicago home.
Obama fired more than one shot at Trump on Friday, claiming each say is a "new assault on our democratic institutions."
"Each day, we’re told by those in high office to fear each other and to turn on each other, and that some Americans count more than others, and that some don’t even count at all," Obama continued. "Everywhere we see greed and bigotry being celebrated, and bullying and mockery masquerading as strength. It’s hard to hope in those moments."
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'I Told Ya So'

Jesse Jackson Jr. said Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton 'do not know' his late father.
Biden also blasted the Trump administration, insisting the POTUS and his Cabinet don't share "any of the values that we have."
Biden's former Vice President, Kamala Harris, also criticized Trump during her remarks, insisting she "predicted a lot about what’s happening right now."
"I'm not into saying ‘I told you so,’ but we did see it coming," she teased. "But what I did not predict is that we would not have Jesse Jackson with us right now to help us get through this."
'Do Not Bring Your Politics

Donald Trump did not attend Jesse Jackson's funeral service.
Ahead of his dad's service, Jackson Jr. specifically requested to keep is dad's services free from politics.
"Do not bring your politics out of respect to Rev. Jesse Jackson, and the life that he lived, to these ongoing services. 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. Because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American," he declared.


