Obama criticizes Trump at campaign rallies ahead of US midterm elections

Obama vs Trump: rallies on the eve of the elections

Former US President Barack Obama on Saturday spoke at rallies in Ohio and Michigan in support of Democratic Party candidates ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, BBC News reports. According to him, “these elections are our last, best chance to at least rein in some of the madness of this administration.” In Cleveland, he said: “After two years of chaos, cruelty, corruption and incompetence unlike anything we have seen in the modern era, you have a chance to say: ‘enough.’” Obama also said he understands voters who did not back the Democrats in 2024 because of economic hardship and post-Covid pandemic inflation, but placed responsibility for the current state of the economy on Trump: “If you thought everything was expensive before ‘that very man,’ now it is even more expensive.”

Criticism of the war with Iran and the White House renovation

In Ohio, Obama criticized the war with Iran, saying the conflict gave Tehran a “veto right” over the Strait of Hormuz. According to AFP, he called the war “unnecessary, one that nobody asked to start”. Obama also joked about the White House renovation: “What is with all the gold? He made the White House look as if Saddam Hussein had opened a Cheesecake Factory there.” According to Gazeta.uz citing BBC News, the Trump administration plans to spend at least $900 million on the White House reconstruction; in the summer of 2025 Trump began renovating the East Wing and decided to demolish it entirely to make way for a $300 million ballroom.

Trump’s response and the state of the race

Trump held a rally the same day in Perry, Georgia, where he praised his immigration and tariff policies, telling supporters: “we are in America’s golden age”. He acknowledged that oil prices are “temporarily high,” but promised that gasoline prices would fall; fuel prices rose because of the wars in Iran and Ukraine. Trump repeated his promise to pay every adult American $5,000 if Republicans win both chambers of Congress, and accused the Democrats of intending to “plunder your wealth” and “destroy your borders.” He also voted early in Florida together with his wife Melania. According to AFP polls, Democrats hold a slight lead in both races in Ohio, but the results are expected to be close; nationwide, Democrats could retake control of the House of Representatives, but the battle for the Senate is far more competitive. In Ohio, Obama backed former senator Sherrod Brown against Republican Jon Husted, and Amy Acton against Vivek Ramaswamy; in Michigan, he supported Abdul El-Sayed, who is running against Republican Mike Rogers for a Senate seat.

Ad controversy in Ohio

Obama criticized Ramaswamy over a campaign ad released last week in which Amy Acton’s estranged mother calls her a liar. The ad did not mention that the woman’s husband had been accused of sexually abusing Acton as a child. “In recent days we have seen that there is no line he will not cross,” Obama said. Acton herself said Ramaswamy “chose to exploit my childhood”in order to “rescue his sputtering campaign.”

Why it matters

The November 3 elections will determine which party controls Congress for the rest of Trump’s term and, accordingly, how easily he can advance his agenda. According to AFP, the Democrats are seeking to win at least one of the two chambers, where Republicans currently dominate. For voters, the practical stakes lie in the issues the candidates have raised — rising fuel prices due to the wars in Iran and Ukraine, tariff policy, and Trump’s promised $5,000 payment — while early voting has already opened in a number of states.