ByMax Matza
Former President Barack Obama attacked the Trump administration over the Iran war and high consumer prices as he hit the campaign trail for Democrats ahead the US midterm elections.
On Saturday, the Democrat held a campaign rally in Ohio to stump for candidates Amy Acton and Sherrod Brown. Later, he will appear in Michigan to push for Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump cast his early ballot in Florida, and later on Saturday will head to Georgia to hold a rally for Republican candidates.
Earlier voting has begun ahead of the 3 November elections, which will decide which party controls Congress for the rest of Trump's presidency.
Speaking on Saturday in Cleveland, Ohio, Obama targeted Trump and his cabinet members, and attacked the president for not lowering costs for American consumers while waging war against Iran.
"This election is our last best chance to at least rein in some of the foolishness of this administration," Obama said.
"This is a circuit breaker in the system. We need to flip that circuit breaker. We need to start bringing some accountability to this administration," the former president said.
He said he sympathised with voters who rejected Democrats in 2024 over economic and inflation concerns following the Covid pandemic.
But he said Trump has only himself to blame for the current state of the economy.
"If you thought everyone was too expensive before 'you know who'," he said, referring to Trump, "everything is more expensive now".
He also said that the war has given Iran "veto power" over the Strait of Hormuz, which was open to marine traffic before hostilities began in February.
When asked about the Iran war on Saturday afternoon, Trump said: "I've done it very effectively and I may have to finish it off, or maybe they'll make a deal, but I'm not sure. Either way, we win."
He and and First Lady Melania Trump were casting advance votes in Florida before leaving to Georgia.
Trump also told reporters "we will see" when asked if Melania Trump would visit Ukraine, after the White House said that she "successfully secured" a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky.
Trump cast his ballot in West Palm Beach in Florida on Saturday
The Republican president has faced significant pressure to lower oil prices, which have jumped due to the wars in Iran and Ukraine.
He recently struck a deal with Russia to export the country's diesel to the US, despite pushback from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
At his afternoon rally, Obama also took a swipe at Trump's efforts to renovate the White House.
"What's with all the gold? He's got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened up a Cheesecake Factory," Obama joked.
Obama's trip to Ohio was to show support for ex-Senator Sherrod Brown, who is running to unseat incumbent Republican Senator John Husted, and Amy Acton, who is running for state governor against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.
In his remarks, Obama criticised Ramaswamy for a campaign ad released this week in which Acton's estranged mother was featured calling her a liar. The ad didn't mention that the woman's husband was charged with raping Acton when she was a child.
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"In recent days, we've seen there is no line he will not cross. No low he will not sink to to try to get in the limelight," Obama said. "I mean, think about this latest ad he ran."
Acton also spoke at the campaign rally before Obama to argue that Ramaswamy "has chosen to exploit my childhood" to "save his struggling campaign".