Jesse Jackson was caught on a live microphone in 2008 criticizing Barack Obama and using a crude, threatening phrase about him, then quickly apologized and said he still supported Obama’s campaign.

The hot-mic remark

  • In July 2008, while waiting for a Fox News appearance, Jackson complained that “Barack [has] been talking down to black people,” referring to Obama’s tough-love messages about personal responsibility and family.
  • He then added that he wanted to “cut his nuts off” (sometimes quoted as “cut his nuts out”), a graphic expression that was picked up by his still-live microphone and later aired.

What he meant and why he was upset

  • Jackson’s anger centered on Obama’s speeches urging Black fathers to be more responsible and present, which Jackson felt sounded like scolding Black communities from above.
  • Commentators at the time framed it as a clash between generations and styles of Black leadership: Jackson’s older civil-rights approach versus Obama’s rhetoric of personal responsibility and broader, cross-racial appeal.

Apology and fallout

  • After the remark became public, Jackson issued a public apology, saying the comments were private, crude, and did not reflect his “unequivocal” support for Obama’s presidential run.
  • His son, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who was a national co-chair of Obama’s campaign, strongly condemned the language as “ugly rhetoric,” even while affirming love for his father.

TL;DR: Jackson said Obama was “talking down to black people” and used a crude line about “cut[ting] his nuts off,” then apologized and reiterated that he supported Obama’s campaign.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.