Earlier this week, Barack Obama made a quiet return to Washington D.C. for a clandestine gathering with Democratic leaders. The former President met with nearly three dozen newly elected House Democrats in a meeting orchestrated by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The primary agenda was to strategize on how to navigate a Republican-controlled Congress and lay the groundwork for reclaiming the White House after Donald Trump’s presidency, reports Politico.

During the meeting, Obama shared a candid reflection with the attendees, acknowledging the feelings of discouragement and fatigue that can beset those in the political arena. “I get feeling discouraged sometimes,” he admitted to the lawmakers who had assembled to honor him. He recalled a tradition from his second term, where his chief of staff, Denis McDonough, distributed stickers as a reminder of their conversation about resisting cynicism. “Cynicism is our enemy,” Obama emphasized, remarking on its pervasive nature in Washington. He urged the Democrats to combat this mindset, asserting, “That, I think, is our most important battle, right? We don’t give in to that, and then we’re going to be able to figure out the same stuff.”

Obama took a moment to draw parallels between the current political climate and his own experiences two decades ago. He recounted the desolation that followed John Kerry’s loss to George Bush in 2004, a time when Republicans also held sway over Congress. Fast forward to 2024, and he described a similar atmosphere of despair after Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris in key battleground states. However, Obama was quick to remind the young Democrats that the tide turned favorably for their party not long after the 2004 setbacks, offering a glimmer of hope for the future.

‘And two years later, Nancy Pelosi was the first woman speaker of the House of Representatives. And four years later, somehow, I ended up being president. The reason I tell you that is not for you to, you know, feel complacent,’ he said. ‘It’s to indicate that the work that you are doing right now, the investment you’re making, the focus that you’re applying, the issues that you are developing, the interactions that you’re having with your constituencies.’

‘All that is creating the momentum and the opportunity for change.’ Obama’s surge into the White House in ’08 came amid an economic recession for the country and widespread hatred for Bush’s foreign wars in the Middle East. The former president now hopes that a coalition of Democratic young voices can help lead themselves back to the Congressional majority and White House in the coming years.

Rep. Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender Congressional lawmaker, who attended the gathering described the former president’s speech as ‘classic Barack Obama — updated for a 2025, political environment.’ The Delaware lawmaker was spotted talking privately with Obama during the event as the ex-president praised McBride for her high-profile media appearances and messaging.

McBride told Politico that Obama’s plan to guide Democrats out of their leaderless wilderness is not by relying one singular political figure. ‘He recognizes that in this moment, it’s not going to be any single voice that saves us. It’s not going to be a former political leader or any single current political leader,’ the lawmaker said. ‘It’s going to be all of us, including a broad bench of younger Democratic elected officials who can take the baton and carry it forward.’