Former U.S. President Barack Obama has explained that he rarely comments on current politics, saying there are moments when core values are at stake, and then it is appropriate for him to speak. However, columnist Larry Elder challenges Obama's silence on the rise of democratic socialism within his own party and the growing accusations that Israel is committing genocide.
Obama's Stated Criteria for Speaking Out
In 2013, Obama stated that nobody questions the efficacy of market economies in producing wealth and innovation. Today, some Democratic rising stars openly challenge that view. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani vows to replace rugged individualism with collectivism. One of his endorsed House candidates, Darializa Avila Chevalier, posted sympathetic references to communism and Marxist ideology on social media, calling Karl Marx's Das Kapital an essential read. She also called Joe Biden a rapist and used profanity against Kamala Harris, while advocating for abolishing police and prisons.
Democratic Socialists Gain Influence
Claire Valdez, another Mamdani-endorsed candidate, vows to take away buildings from slumlords and supports nationwide rent control. All three belong to the Democratic Socialists of America, which supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel and calls Israel an apartheid state engaged in genocide. Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the genocide accusation meritless in 2024.
Obama's Position on Israel
Following Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Obama defended Israel's right to self-defense and has never accused Israel of genocide. In 2025, he expressed relief that an end to the conflict was in sight. Yet as Mamdani and others increasingly describe Israel as an apartheid state committing genocide, Obama has remained silent.
Socialist Tide in California
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who strongly opposed a wealth tax in 2024, called for an economic reset and endorsed a nationwide billionaire tax after Mamdani-endorsed candidates won primaries. State Senator Scott Wiener, a gay Jewish progressive, was berated at a Trans Pride march for refusing to accuse Israel of genocide but later reversed his position.
Obama once scoffed at being called a socialist, defended market economics, and urged rejection of ideological extremes. Elder asks: If this isn't a moment when core values are at stake, what is? If not now, when?
