Obama blasts LA homeless ‘atrocity’ in jab at Gavin Newsom

Barack Obama took a thinly-veiled jab at California Gov. Gavin Newsom over the homeless “atrocity” in Los Angeles Saturday.

During a conversation with YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama explained: “We should recognize that the average person doesn’t want to have to navigate around a tent city in the middle of downtown.

”That’s a losing political strategy.”

“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.”

Meanwhile, at his State of the State address at the Capitol last month, Newsom celebrated a statewide drop in homelessness; however, Los Angelenos were not here for false hopes.

Business owners, residents, and local leaders said the governor’s claims of a 9% decline did not match the reality of widespread encampments and frequent public drug use.

Even inside the Capitol, lawmakers responded cautiously after Newsom’s victory lap.

California has spent more than $24 billion on homelessness programs during Newsom’s time as governor, with spending increasing each year.

In 2024, homelessness reached a record high across the state, with nearly 124,000 people unsheltered, according to federal data. Newsom did not share a statewide total for 2025, and updated federal census data is not yet available.

Other than politics, Obama also said he believes aliens are real – but he hasn’t seem them.

The former president did not offer any further details on what he mean by “real” — and no follow-up questions on the topic were asked — but he used the appearance to cast doubt on several longtime theories as to where they might be.

“They’re not being kept in Area 51, there’s no underground facility, unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States,” Obama said.

Area 51 refers to a highly secretive Air Force base in Groom Lake, Nevada. It has long been the subject of fascination for conspiracy theorists who believe the government is hiding alien aircraft and bodies on the premises.

Interest in potential alien contact with Earth has spiked in recent years after a series of government documents revealed several mysterious aircraft sightings.

Leaked radar footage taken by United States Airforce reaper drones 13 years ago purported to show Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs), the government’s new term for UFOs, flying in the Middle East.

The footage was shared by reporters and prominent UFO researchers George Knapp and Jeremy Corbell in early February.

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