If Democratic lawmakers won’t heed President Trump’s call to cut waste, maybe they’ll listen to President Barack Obama. In a resurfaced 2011 video, then-President Obama urged the federal government to slash wasteful spending and eliminate programs—even those that many people value.
“Everyone knows that getting rid of the deficit will require some tough decisions, and that includes cutting back on billions of dollars in programs that a lot of people care about,” the former president said in the nearly 14-year-old clip. As a reminder to Democratic figures calling for an end to the Trump administration’s efforts to cut wasteful government spending, conservative users on X shared the old video of Obama advocating for similar measures.
Though Obama noted how important it was to make these more painful cuts, he also emphasized that the U.S. government should at least get rid of its “pointless waste and stupid spending that doesn’t benefit anybody.” He added that it’s “waste we should be getting rid of even if we didn’t have a deficit.” He noted further: “No amount of waste is acceptable, especially when it’s your money,” in reference to American taxpayers. “Just as families are living within their means, government should too.”
Obama even provided some examples of this “stupid spending,” asking viewers, “Did you know the federal government pays for a website devoted to a folk music ensemble made up of forest rangers? They’re called the ‘Fiddlin’ Foresters.’ I’ll put their music on my iPod, but I’m not paying for their websites.”
The 44th president noted further what other wasteful things taxpayers were footing the bill for, including “thousands of buildings across the country that no one uses.” Obama even said that he was putting then-Vice President Joe Biden in charge of this effort to “hunt down misspent tax dollars in every agency and department of this government.” As such, Biden made an appearance in the clip, telling views how the job is going to take “relentless focus.” Biden added? “We’re holding ourselves accountable, and we’re deeply committed and focused on making government function better.”
Conservatives shared the video as proof that even Democratic figures saw the need for dramatic spending cuts. Musk also shared the clip, writing, “Obama sounds exactly like @DOGE!!”
Obama sounds exactly like @DOGE!! https://t.co/k92s04pJdY
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2025