Obama criticized for appearing condescending during his first post-election address.

Former President Obama faced criticism from conservatives on social media following his speech about political polarization.

Obama argued that if one side tries to maintain a permanent hold on power by suppressing votes, politicizing the military, and weaponizing the judiciary and criminal justice system to target opponents, a line has been crossed during a speech at the Obama Foundation's Democracy Forum on Thursday.

Obama stated that pluralism is not about coming together in harmony and singing "Kumbaya," but rather it involves standing firm with your beliefs and working together to achieve common goals. He emphasized that in a democracy, power is derived from forming alliances and building coalitions, and that these coalitions should include individuals who are both "woke" and "waking."

"Purity tests are not a recipe for long-term success."

Obama’s speech quickly drew strong criticism from conservatives.

"Miranda Devine, a journalist, declared on X that Obama's time has come to an end. The spell has been broken, and Trump has defeated him, Biden, Harris, the Bushes, and the Cheneys. All of them, with a spring in their step, have been vanquished by Trump."

Barack Obama's status as a false prophet of the Democrat party has been slowly dawning on him since his last-minute desperate smear of Trump with the "very fine people on both sides" lie, as conservative radio host Buck Sexton posted on X.

""Trump's rise to power was made possible by the divisive politics of Obama, who labeled those who disagreed with him as 'bad people,'" Republican communicator Matt Whitlock posted on X."

""Through their participation in democratic elections, millions of individuals demonstrated their dislike for democracy, as stated by author Jon Gabriel on X," and "Indeed, Obama is a highly intelligent individual," he added."

Despite the unbelievable hypocrisy, this is also the man who is launching a project to reduce our political divisions. Being the problem, he sits on his high horse, looking down at the masses with disappointment, while publicly lamenting the issue. This is peak Obama, as posted by Planet Chronicle contributor Guy Benson on X.

To ensure democracy's survival, people must work for a renewed commitment to pluralist principles, as Obama emphasized in his remarks.

The alternative is not just more gridlock and public cynicism, but an increasing willingness among politicians and their followers to violate democratic norms, use state power to target critics and journalists, and even resort to violence to obtain and retain power.

Planet Chronicle Digital's Alex Nitberg contributed to this report