Obama, Trump and Biden lead tributes to Jesse Jackson: ‘one of America’s greatest patriots’

<p>Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Al Sharpton, Donald Trump and more react to death of the civil rights leader at the age of 84</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/17/jesse-jackson-civil-rights-icon-dies">Jesse Jackson, civil rights leader, dies aged 84</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2026/feb/17/jesse-jackson-a-life-in-pictures">Jesse Jackson – a life in pictures</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/17/jesse-jackson-death-tributes-memories">Share your tributes and memories of Jesse Jackson</a></p></li></ul><p>Three Democratic former presidents led a wealth of tributes to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/17/jesse-jackson-civil-rights-icon-dies">Jesse Jackson</a>, a “titan” of the civil rights movement and “one of America’s greatest patriots” who has died at the age of 84.</p><p>Joe Biden said history would remember Jackson as “a man of God and of the people”, calling him in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/joebiden/?hl=en">a social media post</a> : “Determined and tenacious. Unafraid of the work to redeem the soul of our Nation.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/17/jesse-jackson-death-tribute">Continue reading...</a>