Barack Obama has cautioned Democrats against veering too far left ahead of the 2020 election, claiming that the 'average American' voter will likely be turned off by radical policy proposals.

The former President made the remarks to a room of wealthy donors at a Democracy Alliance meeting on Thursday night, with many interpreting his comments as a rebuke of the bold measures being championed by 2020 hopefuls Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

'Even as we push the envelope and we are bold in our vision we also have to be rooted in reality.,' Obama told the audience at the event, according to The New York Times.

He added: 'The average American doesn't think we have to completely tear down the system and remake it'.

The 58-year-old further told the crowd that a winning coalition of voters will not be driven by 'certain left-leaning Twitter feeds' or 'the activist wing of our party.'

Barack Obama hcautioned Democrats against veering too far left ahead of the 2020 election in a speech made to wealthy donors at a Democracy Alliance meeting on Thursday night

The former POTUS was slo quoted as saying: 'I don't think we should be deluded into thinking that the resistance to certain approaches to things is simply because voters haven't heard a bold enough proposal and if they hear something as bold as possible then immediately that's going to activate them'.

Up until now, Obama has resisted weighing in on the Democratic primaries, and he has not endorsed a specific candidate.

Despite failing to publicly support his former Vice President Joe Biden for the nomination, Obama's new comments appear to be a tacit endorsement of Biden's more centrist agenda.

Back in May, Biden famously told donors 'nothing would fundamentally change' if he were to be elected.

On the other hand, Sanders and Warren have proposed numerous radical plans, including a proposal to eliminate private health insurance in favor of a Medicare-for-all system.

The pair also propose free college tuition and eliminating student loans.

Many have interpreted Obama's comments to be a rebuke of the bold measures being championed by 2020 hopefuls Elizabeth Warren (pictured) and Bernie Sanders

Warren and Sanders (pictured) have both called for massive systemic shake-ups

Obama's remarks were derided by many liberals on Twitter on Friday night, with one suggesting that the POTUS has turned his back on the 'hope and change' mantra he ran on back in 2008.

Meanwhile, another wrote: 'I campaigned for him in 2008 and then he just abandoned everyone in the movement he created. Imagine if he had used all that goodwill to achieve something?'

A third person chimed in: 'I supported Obama, and this is infuriating. Not only did he not deliver much change, he now wants to 'warn' us vs 2020 progressives who might? Why? Is that what he's been paid to say?'

While Obama has been shy in sharing his opinion on the Democratic primaries, he has previously taken a swipe at 'woke culture' and notions of purity.

Last month, the former Commander-in-chief spoke with wife Michelle at the annual Obama Foundation summit in Chicago, where he stated: 'This idea of purity and you're never compromised and you're always politically woke and all that stuff, you should get over that quickly.

Obama is pictured during at the Democracy Alliance meeting on Thursday night

'The world is messy. There are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws ...

'Like if I tweet or hashtag about how you didn't do something right or used the wrong verb or then, I can sit back and feel good about myself: 'Man, you see how woke I was? I called you out.'

'You know that's not activism, that's not bringing about change.'