Barack Obama in Ohio on Saturday. Getty Images
US Elections
The 65-year-old former president blamed the Trump administration for the rising cost of living, a top voter concern.
FORMER US PRESIDENT Barack Obama delivered scathing criticism of current leader Donald Trump at rallies Saturday in Ohio and Michigan to support Democratic candidates ahead of the 3 November midterm elections.
Democrats are attempting to wrest back control of one or both chambers of the US Congress, which are currently controlled by Trump’s Republican Party.
Obama retains considerable popularity among the Democratic base, which he is keen to leverage to support his party’s candidates.
In both states, the 65-year-old former president blamed the Trump administration for the rising cost of living, a top voter concern.
“The current president chose to make a series of bad decisions,” Obama said in Cleveland, Ohio, where he rallied in support of former Democratic senator Sherrod Brown.
“Most importantly, he decided to start an unnecessary war that nobody asked for.”
The war on Iran has sent oil prices soaring as Tehran effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz after being attacked.
“After two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence, the likes of which we have not seen in the modern era, you get a chance to say, ‘Enough is enough,’” Obama declared. “We are voting for change right here in Ohio.”
Later, in Michigan, Obama campaigned for Abdul El-Sayed, from the party’s left wing, who is in a close race with Republican Mike Rogers for the US Senate.
“Imagine the power duo of Abdul and Elissa,” Obama said, referring to the incumbent Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin, who is not up for election this year.
“You got a Muslim man, you got a Jewish woman fighting for you in the United States Senate. That’s something, Michigan, you can be proud of.”
Trump slammed Obama’s campaign in Michigan in a post on Truth Social on Sunday, urging voters to choose Rogers.
“Obama was a grossly incompetent President! He paid off Iran with billions, and gave them a road to a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump said, referring to a 2015 deal negotiated under Obama that offered Iran sanctions relief in return for drastically scaling back its nuclear work.
Trump withdrew from that deal during his first term and imposed sweeping sanctions, including on countries that bought Iranian oil.
Western countries accuse Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, something Tehran denies, defending its right to what it insists is a civilian nuclear programme.
‘Don’t procrastinate’
Obama also urged voters to cast their ballots as soon as possible since early voting is already open in both states.
“Don’t procrastinate, don’t equivocate,” Obama said.
In Ohio, Brown will attempt a comeback against incumbent Republican Senator Jon Husted, while the race for governor will be contested between Democrat Amy Acton and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate in 2024.
Polls of Ohio give Democrats a slight lead in both those races, but the results are expected to be close.
Obama also took digs at Trump’s renovation projects across the US capital, including his botched renovation of the National Mall’s Reflecting Pool, his construction of a massive White House Ballroom and the gilded decorations he has adorned the Oval Office with during his second tenure.
“He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory,” Obama said, referring to the popular but indulgent American restaurant chain.
Nationally, polls also suggest that Democrats could regain control of the House of Representatives but face a much more competitive contest for the Senate.