Obama calls Los Angeles homelessness an ‘atrocity,’ criticizes ‘losing’ political strategy

Former President Barack Obama criticized the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles, calling it an “atrocity” given the billions of dollars elected officials have thrown at the problem over the years. 

Obama was speaking with YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen when he touched on criticism local residents and business owners have voiced for years.

“I think it is morally — ethically speaking — it is an atrocity that in a country this wealthy, we have people just on the streets, and we should insist on policies that recognize their full humanity — people who are houseless — and be able to provide them with the help and resources that they need,” Obama said.

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“We should recognize that the average person doesn’t want to have to navigate around a tent city in the middle of downtown,” he added. “That’s a losing political strategy.”

Obama noted that building support for programs and resources to assist those living on the streets needs to come with some level of accountability for those being offered the help. 

“We’re not going to be able to generate support for it if we simply say, ‘You know what, it’s not their fault and so they should be able to do whatever they want,’ because that’s a losing political strategy,” he said. 

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“That doesn’t mean that we care less about those folks,” he added. “It means if we really care about them, then we got to try to figure out how do we gain majority support and be practical in terms of what we can get through at this moment in time and build on those victories,” he added. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. 

California has spent billions to combat homelessness. In his State of the State address last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom touted a 9% statewide drop in homelessness.

In January, he announced new investments to create more shelters and services.

“No one in this country should be without a place to call home. In California, we’re proving there is a solution,” Newsom said in January. “The strategies we’ve put in place are working, and they’re turning this crisis around — but we’re not done. We won’t stop until everyone has a safe, stable place to call home.”