Jesse Jackson Jr., the son of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, called out former Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden for using their platform at his father’s memorial service to criticize President Donald Trump.
Jackson Jr. said the three presidents “do not know” his father, who passed away last month. Trump did not attend the service, with the White House citing prior commitments. Trump was in Washington, D.C., for the “Saving College Sports” roundtable event, which took place on Friday afternoon and featured politicians and high-ranking college athletics figures, including coaches and conference commissioners.
“He maintained a tense relationship with the political order,” Jackson Jr. said of his father during a Saturday service, “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 younger Jackson said.
WOW🚨: Jesse Jackson Jr. just DROPPED this at his father’s memorial:
“I listened to three United States presidents who did not know Jesse Jackson.”
He added: His father had a “tense relationship with the political order” because of the demands of justice—not race or party.… pic.twitter.com/7HrcIIx3pQ
— Officer Lew (@officer_Lew) March 8, 2026
Jackson Jr. had previously said the services were welcome to anyone regardless of political party, though he asked that attendees leave their political beliefs out of respect to his father.
Obama dedicated part of his speech to calling each day a “new assault on our democratic institutions.” Biden remarked that the Trump administration doesn’t share any values that those at the service had.
Clinton spent the bulk of his speech focusing on his relationship with Jackson, whom he first met in the 1970s. The 79-year-old Clinton said he “came to truly love Jesse Jackson” and reflected on their similarities, including their upbringing under single mothers living in the Southern U.S.; Clinton was raised in Arkansas, while Jackson lived in South Carolina growing up. Both encountered segregation, with Clinton’s parents owning a grocery store where they sold goods on credit to people regardless of their race or background.
Clinton also referenced Jackson calling his daughter, Chelsea, during the 1998–99 impeachment trial. He said the two prayed together over the phone.
Bill Clinton shared a story about the time Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson called him amid his impeachment fight, not to speak with him, but to speak with his daughter, Chelsea Clinton.
Clinton also said in his eulogy that Jackson made him a better president, adding he… pic.twitter.com/hnt3dfx2lS
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 7, 2026
At one point, Clinton remembered Jackson addressing a crowd of Black children at the 20th anniversary of the integration of Little Rock Central High School. Clinton said that Jackson told the children, “You have to open your brains, not your veins.”
“And I thought to myself, ‘No matter how long I live and stay in politics, I may never have a single line that’s that good,’” Clinton said. “I mean, think about it. It’s totally brilliant. It captures personal responsibility, caring, and self-survival.”
None of the three presidents had responded to Jackson Jr. as of Monday morning.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom also attended the service, with photos showing him taking selfies with other guests.
