Obamas Share ‘Never Seen Before’ Photo
Former President Barack Obama has made an interesting move just days after he admitted that his political activism in speaking out against President Donald Trump is causing “genuine tension” with his wife.
Rumors have circulated for years that Barack and Michelle Obama’s marriage is in trouble and that they have been having issues. (Obama accused of committing treason for act against Trump)
Despite the former first family denying the rumors, they have persisted.
The former president shared a “behind-the-scenes” photo of himself with his wife Michelle Obama and their two children in a Mother’s Day tribute. (Photo of Barack goes viral for all the wrong reasons)
“Wishing all the moms out there a wonderful Mother’s Day! To @MichelleObama, I’m grateful for all the ways you’ve shown up for our daughters and our family over the years. We love you,” Barack captioned the image, which appeared to have been taken from early on in his political career. The photo showed the former politician sitting at his desk in a brown leather chair with his youngest daughter Sasha in his lap.
Last week, Barack Obama told an outlet that Trump’s policies and actions are causing him to remain more involved in politics “than I would have preferred.”
That said, his renewed political involvement in left-wing causes has come at a personal cost.
“She wants to see her husband easing up and spending more time with her, enjoying what remains of our lives,” Barack said of Michelle in an interview with the New Yorker.
“It does create a genuine tension in our household, and it frustrates her. I’m more forgiving of it, in the sense that I understand why people feel that way, because people aren’t looking at me in historical comparison to other presidents. They don’t care about the fact that no other ex-president was the main surrogate for the Party for four election cycles after they left office,” he said, making the issue all about himself, which is par for the course with him.
Obama went on to falsely claim that he had held back from criticizing Trump since the latter took office in 2017. In reality, Obama has frequently criticized Trump and his policies, though he hasn’t actually referred to Trump by name.
The latest example was a speech he gave at the late civil rights icon Jesse Jackson’s funeral, where comments he made were widely regarded as being directed toward Trump.
“We are living in a time when it can be hard to hope. Each day we wake up to some new assault on our democratic institutions, another setback to the idea of the rule of law, an offense to common decency. Every day you wake up to… to things you just didn’t think were possible,” he said during the speech.
“Each day we’re told by those in high office to fear each other, and to turn on each other. And that some Americans count more than others, and that some don’t even count at all! Everywhere we see greed and bigotry being celebrated, and bullying and mockery masquerading as strength! We see science and expertise denigrated, while ignorance and dishonesty, and cruelty, and corruption ,are reaping untold rewards! every single day we see that and it’s hard to hope In those moments,” he continued.
“So it may be tempting to give to get discouraged, to give in to cynicism. It may be tempting for some to compromise with power, and grab what you can, or even for good people to maybe just put your head down and wait for the storm to pass. But this man, Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, inspires us to take a harder path,” Obama droned on.
“His voice calls on each of us to be heralds of change, to be messengers of hope, to step forward and say, ‘Send me!’ wherever we have a chance to make an impact, whether it’s in our school, or our workplaces, or our neighborhoods, or our cities. Not for fame, not for glory, or because success is guaranteed, but because it gives our life purpose. Because it aligns with what our faith tells us God demands. And because if we don’t step up, no one else will. How fortunate we were that Jesse Jackson answered that call,” he concluded.
The comments were so partisan and over the top that Jackson’s son, Jesse Jackson Jr., rebuked Obama and other former presidents Bill Clinton and Joe Biden for using the occasion to be political.
For the record, Trump spoke highly of Jackson, despite Jackson’s Democratic political leanings, noting that he was a “force of nature like few others before him.”
Nearly 150,000 California Mail Ballots Rejected In Primary
California election officials are examining why nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected during the state’s June primary, with late-arriving ballots accounting for most of the increase.
The higher rejection rate comes despite years of election law changes designed to make voting more accessible and ensure more ballots are ultimately counted.
According to data compiled by the California Secretary of State’s office, 148,241 mail-in ballots were rejected during the June primary, representing 1.73% of all mail ballots returned.
That marks an increase from the 2024 primary, when 108,982 ballots were rejected, or 1.56% of all mail ballots cast.
The largest reason for rejection was ballots arriving too late to qualify under California law.
State data shows that 93,479 ballots were rejected because they failed to meet the state’s deadline requirements.
California allows mail ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day, provided they are postmarked on or before Election Day.
Voting experts believe many of the rejected ballots received postmarks dated after Election Day, making them ineligible to be counted even if they arrived within the seven-day grace period.
Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, said the timing of postal processing appears to be a significant concern.
“Ballots rejected due to lateness are caused primarily to being postmarked too late to count, not because they arrived too late to count,” Alexander said.
Election experts have questioned whether recent operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service may be contributing to delayed postmarks.
Earlier this year, a group of mostly Democratic U.S. senators wrote to the Postal Service expressing concern that mail-processing changes could affect ballot handling during federal elections.
Updated Postal Service procedures mean postmarks may reflect when mail is processed at regional facilities rather than when it first enters the mail system.
Because processing centers have been consolidated in some areas, election officials have warned that postmark timing could be affected.
Before the June primary, California election officials encouraged voters to mail ballots as early as possible because of potential postal delays.
The June election also featured a highly competitive race for governor, which some experts believe encouraged many voters to wait until the final days before casting ballots.
In addition to late-arriving ballots, approximately 44,000 ballots were rejected because election officials determined the voter’s signature did not match the signature on file.
Another 8,300 ballots were rejected because the return envelope did not contain a signature.
State records also show that 743 ballots were rejected because those voters had already cast another ballot.
Other rejected ballots involved missing ballots inside return envelopes or multiple ballots submitted in a single envelope.
The highest rejection rate in the state occurred in Tulare County, where 3.52% of returned mail ballots were rejected.
Alpine County and Merced County followed closely, each recording rejection rates of 3.36%.
California has frequently faced criticism for taking weeks to complete vote counting after major elections, largely because state law permits ballots meeting certain requirements to continue arriving after Election Day.
Following the June primary, President Donald Trump again criticized California’s election system, while the Department of Justice opened an investigation into election administration in Los Angeles County.
Election experts emphasize that the increase in rejected ballots should not be interpreted as evidence of widespread voter fraud.
A 2025 report by the Brookings Institution found documented cases of mail ballot fraud remained extremely rare, estimating roughly four cases for every 10 million mail ballots cast, The Associated Press reported.
State officials have not identified evidence of widespread fraud connected to the June primary, but the increase in rejected ballots is expected to receive additional scrutiny as election administrators evaluate whether changes in postal operations, voter behavior or election procedures contributed to the higher rejection rate.
