If you feel attacked by this statement you should have a careful think about why. Obama is spot on here.

He's also spot on in his criticism of the slogan "Defund the police". Note, he's never been critical of a more community-based, considered approach to crime prevention, but "Defund the Police" doesn't communicate that. A problem made worse by the fact that even proponents of it can't seem to agree on precisely what it means. You flit between several definitions of the phrase in your own article.

Obama is pointing out, quite rightly, that the slogan is confusing and scary for almost everybody outside of its echo chamber. You can't bully or shame people into supporting your causes, you need to talk to them in a way they can understand.

Improving the way the police force works would benefit everybody. I don't think there are many that would disagree with this. But "defund the police" is a terrible way express the idea to the public. And if you can’t get the public on board, your idea will never happen. It's hilariously arrogant to imagine you know more about that than a former President of the United States.