Former President Barack Obama has slammed the Trump administration on a variety of issues, including dragging the U.S. into an “unnecessary war” with Iran while campaigning for Democrats in Ohio and Michigan ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
President Obama, speaking at a rally on Saturday, accused President Donald Trump of “chaos and corruption” as he urged voters to reject the Republican Party.
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The speech came just 10 days before the U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in both states.
The key points are:
President Obama blames Trump’s Iran war for rising fuel prices
“The current president has made a series of bad decisions,” President Obama said at a rally in support of former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in Cleveland, Ohio.
“Most importantly, he decided to start an unnecessary war that no one asked for,” President Obama said.
The former president defended the 2015 nuclear deal reached under his administration, which limited Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
President Obama said, “The reason Iran didn’t have nuclear weapons was because we signed an agreement that everyone agreed that Iran couldn’t get nuclear weapons, and there was no need to launch missiles to do that. I was just engaged in diplomacy.”
“He got out of there and started this war.”
President Obama blamed the conflict for soaring oil and diesel prices, citing attacks on U.S. military bases, U.S. military casualties and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
“Our allies and our bases were attacked. Americans were killed and hundreds of Americans were injured. Our missile stocks are depleted and Iran now has a veto over the Strait of Hormuz, where oil flows to global markets.”
Disruptions to the flow of oil through the strait between Iran and Oman are causing energy prices to rise around the world. Before the war, a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passed through the strait, and Iran has used it as leverage in its war.
“This is why oil prices are going up…this is why diesel prices are going up.”
Rising diesel and gasoline prices are likely to hurt Republicans, as a majority of Americans hold President Trump responsible for the start of the war and the subsequent price increases.
President Obama also mocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s focus on military culture and the Pentagon’s plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hassan, who was convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009.
“These are not serious people,” President Obama said.
Tariffs are making life more expensive for Americans.
President Obama criticized President Trump’s tariffs, saying Americans are paying more for products, including those made in the United States with imported parts.
“When you impose a tariff, consumers pay for it,” he says.
“It’s not just the goods that you use that are imported directly…it’s also the cars that you make here in America. You might need parts from somewhere else, and now all of a sudden there’s a tariff on that.”
He questioned President Trump’s trade dispute with Canada, a major trading partner of the United States.
The two countries are locked in a trade dispute, with President Trump threatening to impose 50% tariffs on Canadian cars and auto parts starting January 2027.
“And the big trade war he’s about to start is with the famous evil empire of Canada,” President Obama said sarcastically.
“Canadians are the nicest people… They’re like your friendly neighbors to the north, and he’s like picking a fight with them.”
President Obama also pointed out that the United States’ growing national debt has reached $40 trillion.
“Instead of reducing the deficit as he said with these tariffs, we now have $40 trillion in debt.”
This figure refers to the total amount of federal debt accumulated over successive administrations, not the annual budget deficit.
Charges of corruption and enrichment of the wealthy
President Obama accused the Trump administration of giving preferential treatment to wealthy Americans while ordinary households are suffering from rising prices.
“After two years of chaos, brutality, corruption and incompetence unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times, we have a chance to say, ‘Enough is enough,'” President Obama declared. “We are voting for change here in Ohio.”
He pointed to President Trump’s 2025 tax and spending bill, which extends tax cuts while cutting federal spending on programs like Medicaid and food assistance.
“The only significant legislation they passed in the last two years was trillions of dollars in tax cuts that primarily benefited the wealthiest Americans,” he said.
Obama also took aim at Trump’s White House renovations, including plans for the ballroom, changes to the Rose Garden and the addition of gold decorations.
“He seems so focused on home renovations that he should be on HGTV,” President Obama joked.
“He’s made the White House look like Saddam Hussein opened a cheesecake factory, and there’s only money everywhere.”
President Obama condemns President Trump’s immigration crackdown
The former president said the United States needs secure borders, but criticized the methods used by immigration officials under the Trump administration.
“I believe we need to make sure our borders are orderly and secure and that people who want to come here can do so legally,” he said.
“But I don’t remember anyone campaigning for bringing undercover agents into our cities. I don’t remember anyone talking about law-abiding citizens being arrested, detained, or shot.”
“That’s not what we have to do to control our borders,” he added.
President Obama attacks Ramaswamy over controversial Amy Acton ad
In Ohio, President Obama criticized Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy over a campaign ad featuring Democratic opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother.
The ad depicts Acton’s mother questioning Acton’s honesty and account of his childhood, without mentioning the sexual abuse allegations that led to their separation decades ago.
This has drawn criticism from Republicans, including Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, but has been defended by President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.
President Obama criticized Ramaswamy’s decision to use Acton’s family history in his campaign.
“There’s got to be something in you that just says no office is worth stooping to,” he said.
He also praised Acton’s career in public service and called on Ohio voters to support her on Nov. 3.
President Obama urges Michigan voters to support El-Sayed and Benson
In Detroit, President Obama campaigned for Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson.
He praised El-Sayed’s Michigan roots and criticized his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, over his support for the war on Iran and Trump’s trade policies.
“Abdul is a true Michigander,” President Obama said, citing his upbringing in the state, his family’s ties to the auto industry and his participation in school sports.
President Obama also spoke about attacks on El-Sayed’s Muslim identity and compared them to false claims about his religion and place of birth during the presidential campaign.
“Unlike Mike Rogers, Mr. Abdul has not spent months rooting for the Iran war…or called these tariffs a ‘masterpiece.'”
The former president hit back at those who called Mr El-Sayed a “radical”, declaring: “Mr Abdul shares my values.”
President Obama also praised Benson for upholding Michigan’s 2020 election results despite threats and protests outside his home.
“When armed protesters showed up outside her home in 2020, demanding to overturn Michigan’s fair and free election results, Jocelyn stood her ground and stood up for you and your rights,” he said.
President Obama calls midterm elections a ‘circuit breaker’ for President Trump
President Obama said the midterm elections offer voters an opportunity to limit President Trump’s power during the remaining two years of his term.
“This election is our last best chance to at least curb some of the stupidity of the current government,” he said. “It’s a circuit breaker in the system. That circuit breaker needs to be toggled.”
He also warned that dishonesty, intimidation and bullying are becoming accepted in American politics.
“We’re not going to fix the economic system, we’re not going to fix the political system…as long as there’s a culture where anything is acceptable, where people in the highest offices in the country think it’s okay to lie and cheat and bully,” he said.
“What we lack in our public discussions is basic civility.”
