Obama launches first midterm rallies with attack on Trump
Barack Obama opened his midterm campaign in Cleveland and Detroit, attacking Donald Trump's administration over costs, the war in Iran and White House renovations.
Former US president Barack Obama opened his midterm campaign on Saturday 24 October with rallies in Cleveland, Ohio, and Detroit, Michigan, attacking Donald Trump’s administration ahead of the 3 November midterm elections.
In Cleveland, he campaigned alongside Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee for Ohio governor, and former senator Sherrod Brown, the Democratic Senate candidate. In Detroit, he campaigned for Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Obama blamed the administration for rising costs, saying: “The current president chose to make a series of bad decisions. Most importantly, he decided to start an unnecessary war that nobody asked for.” He told the Cleveland crowd: “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.’”
On Iran, he said: “Iran now has veto power over the Strait of Hormuz, where oil goes through to get to the world.” In Detroit, he mocked White House renovations, saying: “He should be on HGTV,” and “He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory,” after describing a ballroom bigger than the White House and a paved-over Rose Garden.
He accused Trump of “straight-up grifting”, criticised the trade war with Canada, and condemned Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign ad against Acton, saying there was “no line he will not cross, no low he will not sink to”. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sources: Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/obama-unloads-trump-while-stumping-democrats-ahead-midterms-2026-10-25/ ; New York Post, https://nypost.com/2026/10/24/us-news/obama-rips-trump-while-stumping-for-el-sayed-in-detroit/ ; Times Now, https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-midterm-elections/us-midterms-2026-barack-obama-comments-on-donald-trump-ohio-rally-ramaswamy-ad-article-156399895 ; Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2026/10/25/obama-slams-trumps-cruelty-and-corruption-at-ohio-rally-for-democrats
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