Former President Barack Obama emerged on Marc Maron’s podcast Monday with sharp criticism for Hispanic voters who supported Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
He suggested they prioritized economic concerns over broader consequences now facing the nation.
Speaking on the final episode of “WTF with Marc Maron,” Obama addressed what he views as a critical moment for the country under the 47th president’s administration.
“It was easy, I think, to say, well, yeah, I’m a progressive. But it didn’t really cost us anything. We could take positions on things that we thought were correct, but they were never really tested,” Obama told Maron during the Monday interview.
The former president then pivoted to discuss what he characterized as the current political climate facing Americans across the country.
“We’re being tested right now,” he continued. “I think people – and that includes young people – understand there are consequences to the choices that we’re making.”
“If you decide not to vote, that’s a consequence. If you are a Hispanic man, and you’re frustrated about inflation and so you decided, eh, you know what, all that rhetoric about Trump doesn’t matter, I’m just mad about inflation.”
“And now, your sons are being stopped in LA because they look Latino. That’s a test.”
Obama suggested the nation requires a period of confronting uncomfortable realities, regardless of whether Americans desire such a reckoning.
“There’s some clarity that’s coming about right now that I wish it’d be great if we weren’t tested this way, but you know what, we probably need to be shaken out of our complacency anyway,” Obama said during the podcast appearance.
The comments mirror statements Obama made earlier in June during a conversation with historian Heather Cox Richardson.
During that Connecticut event, Rift News reported that Obama told Richardson that liberals “felt comfortable in their righteousness” during his presidency.
He characterized his administration as a period when progressive Americans could maintain their political positions without facing significant personal or professional consequences.
“You could be as progressive and socially conscious as you wanted, and you did not have to pay a price,” he said in June.
“You could still make a lot of money. You could still hang out in Aspen and Milan and travel and have a house in the Hamptons and still think of yourself as a progressive.”
The former president elaborated on the potential costs of maintaining political positions in the current environment, painting a picture of what sacrifice might look like for wealthy progressives.
“You might lose some of your donors if you’re a university and if you’re a law firm, your billings might drop a little bit, which means you cannot remodel that kitchen in your house in the Hamptons this summer,” he said.
Obama’s references to the Hamptons and other wealthy enclaves appeared aimed at addressing what he sees as comfortable progressivism among affluent liberals.
His remarks suggested a belief that many on the left have not faced genuine challenges to their political convictions.
Maron announced in August that he would be ending his 16-year podcast “WTF with Marc Maron,” bringing to a close one of the longest-running and most influential podcasts in the medium’s history.
Rift News highlighted that the podcast host told CNN in August about his decision to conclude the show, citing concerns about the current media landscape.
“I don’t want to chase the cultural conversation through clickbait and garbage. You know, I don’t want to be tethered,” Maron said at the time.
Obama appeared as Maron’s final guest on the podcast that has featured numerous high-profile interviews over its long run.
During their conversation, Obama responded to Maron’s previous viral comment suggesting that liberals “annoyed America into fascism” by electing Trump.
The former president noted he had warned years ago that progressives should avoid acting like scolds “all the time.”
The outcome saw Trump return to the White House as the 47th president, marking a significant shift in the political landscape.
Inflation emerged as a dominant issue during the 2024 campaign, with many voters across demographic groups citing economic concerns as their primary motivation.
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