Barack Obama enjoyed global fame for eight years when he was elected as the President of the United States. He made history by becoming the first Black American to hold the position. Even his ‘perfect’ marriage with Michelle Obama and happy family life with their two daughters contributed to the admiration of fans around the world. But things have lately been rocky for the globally known power couple.
It’s been nearly a year since rumors of Barack’s affair surfaced in the media. Although Jennifer Aniston publicly denied having any romantic relationship with the former president, the rumors grew stronger as Michelle stopped making any public appearances with Barack. Be it Jimmy Carter’s funeral, Donald Trump’s inauguration, or a dinner outing with daughters, Michelle’s absence speaks volumes about the alleged troubles in their marriage. Even their well-planned Valentine’s or Birthday posts for each other can’t do much damage control now.
However, it isn’t just their marriage that has been going downhill lately. Shockingly, Barack’s political relevance and influence have hit an all-time low. Once upon a time, Barack was the anchor of the Democratic Party. But the winds have changed their course now. A CNN poll conduced in March revealed that only 4% of Democrats say Barack Obama represents their party’s leadership. Some may find it hard to believe but he is now behind Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders.
‘Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House‘, a new political memoir by authors Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes analyze Barack Obama’s diminishing influence within the Democratic Party. The book gives an inside look at the Biden, Harris, and Trump campaigns during the 2024 presidential elections. It highlights Harris’ frustrations with Barack Obama when she asked for his support to replace Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket.
Obama faced immense pressure from top Democrats to support Harris but he was hesitant to endorse her. The authors wrote, “As the hours passed, and it became evident that she was well on her way to seizing the nomination by storm, Obama’s opposition to her grew more confounding,” as per Economic Times.
“A confidant said that Harris was ‘very annoyed’ with him. They shared a large number of political allies and donors. The other members of the group joined her,” it further mentions.
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In an interview with MSNBC, Allen said that Obama tried to sabotage Harris by attempting to set up an open primary. Allen stated, “President Obama absolutely did not think that Joe Biden should continue, according to our sources close to President Obama,” while mentioning that he opposed Harris taking Biden’s place as well.
On the one hand, Barack believed that Harris couldn’t defeat Donald Trump, while on the other hand, Harris convinced top Democrats to side with her. Eventually, Barack realised “his actions against Biden and Harris could diminish him in the eyes of Democratic elites.”
The book reports, “It took days of intense negotiations to strike a deal on the simplest act in politics. The whole frame, including the script, was designed to elevate the Obamas by making it look like she was begging for their blessing. This was typical bulls—t. [Harris] had to fake surprise and enthusiasm.”
Even the cultural influence the couple once had on people is declining. Michelle recently started her own podcast with her brother. Sadly, IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, has been suffering from poor rating compared to other emerging competitors. As per Daily Mail, their podcast is ranked #34 on Spotify while Amy Poehler, who recently started her own podcast is at #3. Michelle also seems to be struggling with bringing high-profile guests on her podcast. The biggest star she could book for episode two was Issa Rae.
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And let’s just say, nobody wants to see 61-year-old former first lady styling her hair in messy pom-poms for hour-long episodes. Columnist Maureen Callahan calls it “strangest female midlife crisis in recent memory” who is “acting, looking and sounding, frankly, like a teenager.”
The couple’s 2018 Netflix deal isn’t turning out too well either. Ted Sarandos, the head of Netflix, recently hinted that the Obamas’ productions is falling short of viewership. However, he added that he didn’t even expect its success either. He told Semafor, “They’re not big commercial projects, typically. There’s an element of prestige television that they brought to us.”
In another interview, when he was asked about the renewal of Obamas’ deal, he said, “I don’t want to comment on anyone’s renewals.”
In her column for Daily Mail, Maureen summed up their current life as “The Obamas are over.” It remains to be seen if and how the couple will recover from their diminishing popularity— among fans and within the Democratic Party.
