Former President Joe Biden is facing intense criticism after delivering a politically charged eulogy at civil rights activist Jesse Jackson’s funeral earlier this month, defying the family’s explicit request to keep politics out of the memorial service.
Political commentator Megyn Kelly unleashed a scathing response on “The Megyn Kelly Show” after Jackson’s son, Jesse Jackson Jr., publicly criticized Biden, former President Barack Obama, and former Vice President Kamala Harris for turning the March 6 memorial at House of Hope in Chicago into a political platform.
Kelly tore into the Democratic leaders during her Monday broadcast, accusing them of ignoring the family’s explicit wishes. “All these Democrats show up at his funeral, and reportedly they were asked not to get political,” she said. “Well, they couldn’t contain themselves.”
The controversy erupted after the Jackson family specifically requested attendees avoid political commentary during memorial services for the civil rights leader, who died February 17 at age 84 after battling progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurological disorder. Despite this plea, multiple Democratic officials delivered speeches that appeared to target President Donald Trump’s administration.
Biden’s rambling eulogy took an unexpected turn when the 83-year-old former president made a bizarre claim about his intelligence while discussing his childhood stutter. “I’m a **** of a lot smarter than most of you,” Biden told mourners, according to reports. He made the comment while explaining how speech impediments are often mistaken for a lack of intelligence, then quickly pivoted: “Well, all kidding aside, it makes you feel really small.”
Kelly didn’t hold back in her assessment of Biden’s performance, mocking his delivery and questioning why he defied the family’s wishes.
The former president went beyond personal anecdotes to directly criticize the current administration during his March 6 speech. “We’re in a tough time, folks. We have an administration that doesn’t share the values we have,” Biden told attendees, according to CNN’s live coverage of the funeral service.
Obama similarly used his eulogy to take veiled shots at President Trump without naming him directly, saying Americans are living through “some new assault on our democratic institutions” each day. He added that “greed and bigotry” are being celebrated while “bullying and mockery” masquerade as strength.
The following day at the final memorial service at Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters on Chicago’s South Side, Jesse Jackson Jr. delivered a pointed rebuke of the Democratic politicians who spoke at his father’s funeral.
“Yesterday, I listened for several hours to three United States presidents who do not know Jesse Jackson,” the former congressman said Saturday, March 7. The younger Jackson, who is running in today’s Democratic primary to reclaim his former congressional seat in Illinois’ 2nd District, emphasized his father demanded “a consistent, prophetic voice that at no point in time ever sold us out as a people.”
Kelly defended Jackson Jr.’s criticism during her show. “But Jesse Jackson Jr. was not happy. And who could blame him?” she asked.
The political commentator reserved particular scorn for Harris, who also delivered remarks at the service, calling the former vice president “insufferable” for immediately pivoting to political attacks after perfunctory condolences.
Kelly went on to predict Harris would mount another presidential campaign in 2028, complaining the former vice president was recycling material from her previous political speeches.
Former President Bill Clinton notably avoided political commentary during his eulogy, instead focusing on his personal friendship with Jackson. “I’m here more as a friend than a former president,” Clinton said. “He was my friend when I needed him.”
Jackson, who led the civil rights movement after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968 and ran for president in 1984 and 1988, left behind a legacy that transcended party politics. His death at 84 marked the end of an era for civil rights activism in America.
The funeral controversy highlights ongoing tensions between respecting families’ wishes during memorial services and politicians’ inability to resist using high-profile platforms for political messaging. Kelly questioned whether “hubris” drove the three Democratic leaders to override the Jackson family’s explicit request for a politics-free service.
As the backlash continues, the incident serves as a stark reminder that even solemn occasions honoring American icons can quickly become flashpoints for partisan conflict in today’s polarized political landscape.
