Former Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and former first ladies Hillary and Michelle, paid tribute to “friend” and “giant” Jesse Jackson, who died Tuesday at 84, in two heartfelt messages celebrating the iconic civil rights activist’s long “life of service.”
“Michelle and I were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of a true giant, Reverend Jesse Jackson,” Obama said in a statement released on X, where he honored the Baptist minister’s 60-year legacy and sent “deep condolences” to his family in the name of their friendship.
Reverend Jesse Jackson dies
Michelle and I were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of a true giant, the Reverend Jesse Jackson. We will always be grateful for Jesse’s lifetime of service, and the friendship our families share. We stood on his shoulders. We send our deepest condolences to the Jackson… pic.twitter.com/Q68r4IJt9U
– Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 17, 2026
According to the former president (2009-2017), the first African-American to reach the White House, Jackson’s two historic campaigns for the presidency in 1984 and 1988, “laid the groundwork” for his subsequent run for the highest office in the land. “We stand on his shoulders,” he asserted.
Michelle “got her first glimpse of what political organizing was all about at the Jackson kitchen table as a teenager,” she recalled.
“From organizing boycotts and demonstrations, to registering millions of voters and standing up for freedom and democracy around the world, he was tireless in his conviction that we are all God’s children, deserving of dignity and respect,” Obama added.
The Clintons also recalled that
Reverend Jackson never stopped working for a better America with brighter tomorrows. Hillary’s and my full statement on the passing of our dear friend: pic.twitter.com/HYsNaaKPyW
– Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) February 17, 2026
For their part, Bill Clinton (1993-2001) and Hillary, former Secretary of State in Obama’s first term, highlighted their friendship of nearly half a century with Reverend Jackson, who “championed human dignity and helped create opportunities for countless people to live better lives.”
“I will always be grateful for the friendship he extended to Hillary, Chelsea and me; proud to have appointed him my special envoy for democracy promotion in Africa; and honored to have presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Hillary and I loved him dearly,” Clinton added.
Numerous political personalities have paid tribute to the activist (1941-2026) and close collaborator of Martin Luther King Jr, who died Tuesday surrounded by his family.
Trump joined the recognition
U.S. President Donald Trump also expressed his tribute.
“The Rev. Jesse Jackson has died at 84. I knew him well, long before he was president. He was a good man, with a lot of personality, courage and ‘street smarts.’ He was very personable, someone who really loved people,” he wrote on his network Truth Social.
Trump’s statements come weeks after the publication of a now-deleted video on his Truth Social account featuring former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle, characterized as apes, which generated harsh criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Filed under: Reverend Jesse Jackson dies
With information from EFE
