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Barack Obama ripped and ridiculed President Trump at a Detroit rally Saturday night — where he vouched for Abdul El-Sayed, despite the lefty Michigan Democratic Senate candidate’s past criticism of him.
The former president took on Trump on gas prices, the war in Iran, and Canada tariffs – and mocked the president’s redecorating binge, speaking at Cass Technical High School in Midtown Detroit.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he is very focused on home renovation,” Obama said, to laughs from the crowd. “He should be on HGTV.”
“Guy’s building a ballroom that is bigger than the White House. Paved over the Rose Garden – paved it over. Put a helicopter pad on the South Lawn. And then there is just gold everywhere,” he said.
“What’s up with the gold? I mean, he’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory. It’s just gold everyther. He is clearly not focused on lowering prices for you.”
He accused the administration of massive corruption, and brought scandals involving resigned US ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle.
“This is a culture that’s set at the top. We have never seen a president excel in straight up grifting on your dime like this,” he said. He blamed a “spineless Congress” for failing to stand up.
He also dissed Trump’s trade war against “that historical adversary of ours – Canada.”
“Canada, it’s your neighbor. It’s a few mins drive over the bridge. These are the people who gave us Martin Short and maple syrup,” he said, name-checking the comedian from north of the border. “They are the nicest people – they’re so nice.”
Obama accused Trump of starting a “war nobody asked for and nobody voted for” in Iran, and ridiculed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for being focused “like a laser on the jaw lines and testosterone levels of our troops.”
How much time do you think this man spins in front of the mirror every day?” Obama asked. “These are not serious people.”
At one point his routine got interrupted by a person who needed medical attention – a frequent occurrence during his campaign rallies back in the day. “A little tip: stay hydrated. Bend your knees. I have been in a lot of gyms,” Obama said.
The former president got in such a rhythm tearing into Trump – who early Saturday called Obama a “lousy president” – that there were long stretches where he didn’t tout El-Sayed, who is engaged in a tough race with former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.).
“We got to start showing what a future on the other side of this administration can look like, and that starts with all of you … It starts with you sending Abdul El-Sayed to the United States Senate.”
Speaking earlier, El-Sayed, who has dismissed his own prior criticisms of Obama as coming from his “younger” and “angry” self, talked up their commonalities. He noted that both had “mixed parents,” in reference to his Egypt-born father and his stepmother Jacqueline, but not mentioning his birth mother Fatten Elkomy.
“I was raised by my dad and my stepmom Jackie, a daughter of the American Revolution in the middle of the state. They said he got a funny name – I got a funny name,” drawing another Obama comparison.