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President-elect Donald Trump not only defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election, he also defeated former President Barack Obama.

Obama, who vigorously supported Harris throughout his campaign, advised voters that the 2024 election would be a contest between character and principles rather than ideas.

The public’s choice is evident, however, given Trump’s resounding 312 to 226 Electoral College victory, which was made possible in part by Trump becoming the first Republican to win the popular vote by nearly three million votes since former President George W. Bush in 2004.

That decision has seriously damaged the legacy of Obama, the Democratic Party’s de facto leader, and left the party largely helpless in Washington, D.C., until at least 2026.

Trump’s 2024 political devastation has forced Democrats to reorganize after he fundamentally altered the Republican Party with his victory eight years prior. Many members are asking the party to look for new leadership rather than rely on its previous leaders, the Washington Examiner reported.

Former Obama Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is begging the Democratic Party to “do better than reach back to its glory days to find victory” as Democratic governors, several of whom are predicted to run for president in 2028, form a coalition, Governors Safeguarding Democracy, to better protest Trump.

“It’s no longer the party of Obama,” Johnson told the Washington Examiner. “Neither is it the party of Roosevelt or Kennedy anymore. The Republican Party is certainly not the party of Reagan anymore. A good political party knows how to look forward, not backward.”

Additionally, Obama State Department alumnus and Democratic strategist Tom Cochran, managing director of public relations and public affairs firm 720 Strategies, concurred that it is “hard” for the party “to inspire people” with “yesterday’s voices when we’re trying to solve tomorrow’s problems.”

“This problem is magnified when polling numbers reflect dissatisfaction with the status quo and a hunger for significant change,” Cochran told the Washington Examiner. “The Democrats need new ideas, voices, and [to] demonstrate a willingness to listen [for] a clear understanding of what the collective frustrations are in America.”

“I think Obama may no longer wield the power and influence he once had,” Pietrusza told the Washington Examiner. “After a while, time simply moves on. And while you may have once been historic, at some point you simply become yesterday’s news.”

One example of Obama’s waning influence came when he insulted black male voters while on the campaign trail for Kamala Harris.

Obama said last month: “My understanding, based on reports I’m getting from campaigns and communities, is that we have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running. I’m speaking to men directly: part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.”

Democratic strategist Garry South argued that Obama “is one of the most compelling voices we have in the party,” comparing Obama’s endorsement of Harris to George W. Bush’s non-endorsement of Trump.

“No one can blame him for Harris’ loss, that’s on her,” South told the Washington Examiner. “He went beyond the call of duty in campaigning for her, but voters don’t base their vote on surrogates in a presidential campaign.”

However, one Senate Democrat told the Washington Examiner that as Democrats reflect on 2024 and Harris regains her political footing following the election, as Clinton, former Secretary of State John Kerry, former Vice President Al Gore, and other nominees did before her, the party will “once again” find new standard-bearers moving forward.

Democrats, such as former Secretary Johnson and strategist Hahn, have blamed the party’s loss of support from blue-collar people, who, for instance, oppose social programs like transgender issues and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Democratic politicians are “letting slip away the so-called working class, of all colors,” according to Johnson, a current partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.

“It’s more cultural than political,” he said. “We are perceived to be the party of coastal elites, chardonnay, and political correctness. I have thought for some time that perhaps we need to become the party of John Fetterman. Go for the hoody and crocs.”

At the same time, Hahn was adamant Democrats are not codependent on Obama, contending that is “more of a conservative meme than a real thing.”

“Democrats clearly need to figure out how to reach working class voters,” he said. “The party will have a robust primary in 2028.”

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