Former President Barack Obama criticized President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday over the war with Iran, calling the administration “not serious people” and saying Americans were paying the price for its decisions.
Obama made the remarks at a rally in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was campaigning alongside Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown.
Turning to the Iran conflict, Obama argued that Trump had abandoned diplomacy with Tehran and left the United States embroiled in a war months after declaring victory.
“This is something I know a little about,” Obama said. “Let’s think about this Iran war.”
“The original rationale was we’re going to go in there and get them to give up their nuclear program, their nuclear weapons,” he continued.
Obama pointed to the Iran nuclear agreement reached during his presidency, arguing that diplomacy had prevented Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
“I didn’t have to fire a missile to do it,” Obama said. “I just had to engage in diplomacy.”
“He pulled out of it, starts this war,” Obama said, before pointing to the administration's earlier declaration of victory. “So, seven months later, how’s that war going?”
Obama then pointed to the human and military costs of the conflict.
“Our allies and our bases have been attacked. Americans have been killed, hundreds of Americans have been wounded. We have run down our stock of missiles,” he said.
Newsweek has contacted the White House and the Pentagon for comment.
Obama Mocks Hegseth Over Testosterone
Obama then turned his attention to Hegseth, mocking the defense secretary over his focus on testosterone levels in the military.
“He’s very focused on important matters like the jaw lines and testosterone levels of our troops. And live streaming executions,” Obama said. “Because that’s how he thinks you cultivate that manly warrior spirit.”
Hegseth announced in July that active-duty service members aged 30 and older would be required to undergo annual testosterone deficiency screenings as part of their periodic health assessments.
“I’m authorizing a new screening program for testosterone deficiency for our service members, ensuring you have the right testosterone levels to operate at your absolute best,” Hegseth said when announcing the policy.
Obama then made the criticism more personal.
“How much time do you think this defense secretary spends looking at himself in the mirror in the morning?” Obama said. “I mean, he’s, you know, he’s working his hair because that’s how warriors look.”
“These are not serious people,” he continued. “They’re not serious people. And the problem is, you end up having to pay the price for their lack of seriousness.”
Trump Has Called Iran War a ‘Military Exercise’
Obama’s attack comes after Trump repeatedly characterized the Iran conflict in terms that stopped short of calling it a war, even as the U.S. military death toll increased.
At an October 16 rally in Georgia, Trump described the conflict as a “military exercise” while discussing the performance of the stock market.
“So we have the highest stock market in history. And this is with the war,” Trump said. “But it’s not, it’s just, it’s a military exercise, OK? It’s a military exercise.”
The remark came less than a week after the Pentagon raised its official count of U.S. troops who have died in connection with operations against Iran to 21. The Pentagon had also reported 865 service members wounded.
Trump previously called the conflict “small potatoes” and argued it should be regarded as a military conflict rather than a war.
“A lot of people don’t call it a war,” Trump told reporters in September. “I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us. It’s not a big thing.”
...
Obama Blames Iran War, Trump Tariffs for Rising Prices
Obama also sought to connect the war directly to the cost-of-living pressures facing Americans ahead of the November 3 midterms.
After pointing to Iran’s leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, Obama said: “This is the reason why the price of oil is up. Nobody disputes that. This is the reason the price of diesel is up. This is the reason why the price of just about everything is up.”
“Oil prices aren’t the only reason prices keep going up,” he continued. “There’s also this whole tariff business.”
Obama argued that consumers ultimately pay for tariffs, including when American manufacturers rely on components imported from overseas.
He then mocked Trump's trade dispute with Canada.
“The big trade war he’s starting now is with that well-known evil empire Canada,” Obama said. “Canada. I mean these are the people who gave us maple syrup.”
Obama Steps Up Midterm Push in Ohio
Saturday’s appearance brought Obama to Ohio to campaign for Acton and Brown as Democrats push for turnout in the final stretch of the midterm elections. The Cleveland rally was billed as a kickoff to the final stretch of the election with 10 days remaining before Election Day.
Obama carried the state in both his 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.
Brown is seeking to defeat Republican Senator Jon Husted, while Acton is running for governor. Obama had previously endorsed Brown and emphasized the national stakes of the Senate contest.
“This race is going to be close,” Obama said in his endorsement of Brown. “It could determine which party controls the Senate, and whether Ohioans can count on the people in Washington to be fighting for you.”
Newsweek reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.