Former U.S. President Barack Obama actively campaigned for the Democratic Party in the crucial battleground states of Ohio and Michigan. He launched a fierce critique of President Donald Trump and Republican allies, targeting issues such as corruption, foreign policy, unethical campaign tactics, and White House renovations. The November 3 midterm elections will decide which party controls the U.S. Congress.
Barack Obama, former U.S. president, campaigned to support Democratic candidates in Ohio and Michigan, launching a sharp attack on President Donald Trump and the Republican Party ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, which will determine party control of Congress amid a tight race.
Speaking in Detroit, Michigan, Obama urged voters to use this election as a tool to check and balance the Trump administration. He accused President Trump and Republicans of allowing corruption, inefficient governance, and abusing power for personal gain.
Obama called on voters to treat this election like an "automatic circuit breaker" to halt and scrutinize the Trump administration's mismanagement, saying, "We need to flip this switch to restore accountability and oversight to this government."
Obama also criticized Trump’s war policy toward Iran, stating that although the administration claimed victory, the situation has strengthened Iran’s economic leverage. Threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have affected oil-exporting countries. He also mocked the Trump-era White House renovations as overly flashy and ostentatious.
During his campaign stop in Detroit, Michigan, Obama fiercely criticized Trump and the Republican Party, stating the U.S. has never had a president who sought personal gain and exchanged the office for such benefits, turning the Republican Party into a symbol of corruption and inefficiency.
Obama cited an August Reuters/Ipsos poll showing that 63% of Americans believe Trump and his family have improperly profited from cryptocurrency since returning to the White House, and 69% think his policy decisions have been influenced by private business interests.
Obama also took a jab at U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, sarcastically saying he focuses more on soldiers' appearances and testosterone levels than on more important issues.
Besides attacking the Trump administration, Obama opposed the campaign tactics of Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate for Ohio governor, who used a video featuring Donna Arthur, the birth mother of Democratic candidate Amy Acton, to attack his opponent. In the video, Acton’s mother accused her daughter of lying and referenced her mental health struggles.
Obama said Ramaswamy has no limits in his campaign tactics and is willing to use inappropriate methods. He referenced Acton’s childhood experiences, which she had revealed, including abuse, abandonment, and homelessness.
Acton, who served as Ohio’s public health director during the COVID-19 pandemic, responded that her opponent deliberately exploited her childhood wounds to salvage a struggling campaign and emphasized that decency and ethics remain important.
This issue sparked national controversy, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance defending Ramaswamy’s ad, even as some Ohio Republican leaders, including Governor Mike DeWine, called for the ad’s removal.
In Michigan, Obama campaigned for Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official running for U.S. Senate against Republican former Representative Mike Rogers. Obama rejected accusations that El-Sayed holds extremist views and said the candidate’s values align with his own.
Obama also addressed El-Sayed’s past criticisms of him after Obama’s 2012 re-election, when El-Sayed felt Obama had not fully delivered on progressive campaign promises.
Having left the presidency in 2017, Obama remains a key Democratic figure expected to energize the base during the final stretch of campaigning. The November 3 election will impact the political balance of power in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.
. SourceReuters/The Associated Press