Obama Attacks Trump Record Ahead of US Midterms
Barack Obama has accused Donald Trump of corruption, mocked his strategy for Iran and ridiculed the style of his White House renovations, as the former president joined the campaign trail ten days before the United States midterm elections. The Obama attacks Trump message, delivered at rallies in Cleveland and Detroit on Saturday, framed the November 3 vote as a chance to restrain the current administration.
Trump has told voters to treat the midterms as if he were on the ballot. Obama, his Democratic predecessor, did just that. He stumped for Democratic candidates in Ohio and Michigan, where the race for the closely divided Congress will be decided.
Campaigning in Michigan for US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Obama called the vote a “circuit breaker” to “at least rein in some of the foolishness” of Trump’s presidency.
“We got to flip that circuit breaker, bring some accountability to this government,” Obama said.
Why Obama joined the campaign now
Obama served as president from 2009 until Trump began his first term in 2017. He remains one of the most popular figures among Democrats, and the party hopes his presence can fire up supporters in tight races.
In Michigan, El-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers, a former US representative, in a Senate contest both parties see as winnable. Democrats need every seat they can gain if they are to take control of a chamber that remains closely divided.
Obama played to the Michigan crowd by repeating the criticisms Democrats level most often at Trump and at Republicans who support him. His sharpest line targeted what he called self-dealing at the top of the administration.
“We have never seen a president excel in straight-up grifting, on your dime, like this,” Obama said. “Never seen a president so intent on selling favours like this … Now the party seems to stand for corrupt government, or inept government, or no government.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll in August found that 63 per cent of Americans think the president and his family have inappropriately profited from cryptocurrency since he returned to the White House last year. The same poll found that 69 per cent believe his policy decisions are influenced by his private business dealings.
Obama attacks Trump over Iran and style
Obama also ridiculed the administration’s claims of victory against Iran. He argued that the war has given Tehran more economic power, because its threats to attack shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have unsettled oil exporters.
“Iran now has veto power over the Strait of Hormuz, where oil goes through to get to the world,” Obama said.
That warning carries weight beyond American politics. Iran has already used Hormuz as pressure in its confrontation with the United States, and oil prices have jumped on Hormuz tactics before. Trump himself has warned of imminent action linked to oil shipments through the strait.
For Pakistan, any disruption in the strait feeds straight into fuel supply worries. The country has already faced LPG shortages and dealer strikes this month, so a fresh Hormuz shock would land on households already paying more for energy.
Obama then turned to the administration’s sense of priorities. He sarcastically called Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth someone “laser-focused on important matters like the jawline and testosterone levels of our troops”. He also mocked the gilded look of the renovated White House.
“He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory,” Obama said.
What the midterms will decide
The November 3 elections will decide control of Congress. Voters will choose members of the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate, along with governors and state officials across the country.
If Democrats gain ground, they can block legislation, control committees and open investigations into the administration. If Republicans hold their position, Trump keeps a freer hand for the second half of his term.
Both parties treat the midterms as a verdict on the president, even though his name is not on the ballot.
The Cleveland and Detroit rallies were Obama’s most direct intervention of the campaign so far. His party will watch closely whether the crowds and the coverage translate into votes in Michigan and Ohio, two states that often decide national elections.
What did Obama accuse Trump of?
Obama accused Trump of corruption, saying no president had excelled in “straight-up grifting” like this one, and he criticised the administration’s Iran strategy and White House renovations.
