Former US President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump held rival campaign rallies in Georgia and Ohio on Wednesday, exchanging criticism over the Iran war, tariffs and the economy just five days before the midterm elections.
Here are some key takeaways from their meetings:
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President Obama said the Iran war has made Americans less safe.
“This president has made a series of bad decisions, chief among them starting an unnecessary war that no one asked for and no one voted for,” Obama said at a campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia.
The United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, targeting Tehran and the country’s nuclear and military facilities, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and several senior officials. Tehran responded with attacks on U.S. military facilities across the region and closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
A cease-fire agreement was reached in April and a memorandum of understanding was signed in June, but the two sides fell apart, while efforts to secure lasting peace have stalled over Iran’s nuclear program, U.S. sanctions and the reopening of the strait.
US media also reported that US weapons were in short supply, particularly Patriot interceptor missiles.
“We’ve exhausted our missile inventory and become more vulnerable,” Obama told supporters. “And Iran now has a veto over the Strait of Hormuz, where much of the world’s oil reaches its consumers.”
“This is why oil prices are going up. This is why diesel prices are going up. Almost everything’s prices are going up,” he added.
“Contrary to the promises, statements and declarations made seven months ago, this war is not over.”
President Obama took aim at President Trump’s tariffs
President Obama once again criticized the trade tariffs that President Trump imposed on global trading partners shortly after taking office in early 2025. President Obama argued that these tariffs, far from delivering the economic benefits his administration had promised, were increasing the prices of goods for American consumers.
“Economists say that if you impose tariffs, consumers will pay the price,” President Obama said. “And that’s exactly what happened.”
“Instead of reducing the deficit with tariffs as he said, we are now $40 trillion in debt.”
In particular, he named President Trump’s ongoing dispute with Canada, one of the United States’ largest trading partners.
The two countries are locked in a trade war, with President Trump announcing a 50% tariff on Canadian cars and auto parts starting January 2027. When negotiations broke down in August, Canada retaliated with its own tariffs of the same amount.
“And the massive trade war he’s waging right now is against that famous evil empire, the historic adversaries of the United States and Canada,” President Obama said.
He also criticized President Trump’s approach toward U.S. allies and Russia.
“While we are alienating important allies like Canada, the White House is kneeling to Russia’s Vladimir Putin and selling out Ukrainians who are fighting for freedom and democracy.”
President Obama reconsiders Cheesecake Factory joke
President Obama again poked fun at Trump’s White House renovations, saying the president seemed more concerned about a joke he made over the weekend than rising prices.
At previous rallies, Obama criticized Trump’s plans for a new banquet hall, 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.”
In Georgia, President Obama is back to joking. “The president didn’t even take offense to the comparisons to Saddam Hussein. That part didn’t bother him,” Obama said.
“But he was very upset about the Cheesecake Factory’s comments.”
President Obama joked that the White House had gone to great lengths to respond. “They mobilized the entire government to respond to that joke, not to inflation, but to that joke.”
He also talked about his feelings towards the restaurant chain.
“I lived at Chuck Cheese and California Pizza Kitchen and Cheesecake Factory. That was my jam for about 10 years.”
Returning to President Trump’s renovations, President Obama added, “While we’re at war and trying to deal with out-of-control prices, he’s literally working on arts and crafts.”
President Obama summoned Martin Luther King Jr.
President Obama concluded his speech by reflecting on America’s political culture and saying that the country’s problems go beyond inflation, economic inequality, and government policy.
“It’s not just about economics. It’s not just about price. It’s about values,” he said. “There is a moral element to the choices we now face.”
President Obama warned that fraud and intimidation were undermining people’s lives.
“We’re not going to fix a broken system. We’re not going to undo economic injustice as long as we have a culture where anything goes, where people in the highest offices of our country think it’s okay to lie, cheat, and bully.”
He referenced a 1954 sermon by civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. who called on Americans to rediscover the values society had abandoned.
President Obama quoted Martin Luther King Jr., saying, “If we are to move forward today, we must go back and rediscover some of the powerful and precious values we left behind.”
President Trump attacks President Obama’s Iran nuclear deal
President Trump has defended military operations against Iran and criticized the 2015 Iran nuclear deal signed under President Barack Obama’s administration.
The deal limits the amount of uranium Iran can enrich and stockpile, and allows international inspectors to monitor its nuclear facilities. President Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement in 2018, saying it did not go far enough and failed to address Iran’s missile programs and activities in the region.
“I tore up Barack Hussein and Obama’s JCPOA, the Iran nuclear deal. It was Iran’s path to nuclear weapons, and it was one of the stupidest deals I’ve ever seen in my life,” Trump said.
President Trump claimed that subsequent U.S. military operations destroyed much of Iran’s military, including Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities and 159 naval vessels.
“We eliminated Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities with Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury,” he said.
Turning to the Strait of Hormuz, President Trump has argued that oil shipments are increasing and proposed renaming the waterway after him. “We’re going to call it Trump Strait,” he said.
The strait between Iran and Oman connects the Gulf of Oman with the Arabian Sea. Before the war, about a fifth of the world’s oil consumption passed through it.
Trump made rare mention of Epstein
President Trump’s early remarks in Chillicothe, Ohio, were interrupted by protesters shouting about Jeffrey Epstein.
President Trump rarely brings up his former friend Epstein, but on Wednesday he repeated claims from last year that he kicked Epstein out of a Florida club nearly two decades ago.
“This was a great thing that I did, I have to say,” Trump said. He added, “I kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago once and for all.”
Trump later accused Democrats of having ties to Epstein and of using the controversy against him. “He was a Democrat,” Trump said.
President Trump also claimed, without providing evidence, that the protesters were paid to disrupt his rallies.
“These are protesters who are being paid. Think about a guy, he’s probably 45, 50 years old. They’re giving him $250.”
After being interrupted by two more demonstrators, Trump resumed speaking.
President Trump says Venezuela has supplied 1 million barrels of oil
President Trump said Venezuela gave the United States 1 million barrels of free oil in response to the U.S. military operation that ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.
“Venezuela, they don’t like to talk about it, but they just delivered us a million barrels of oil for free,” President Trump said during a rally in Ohio.
The shipment arrived in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday, about 10 months after U.S. forces abducted Mr. Maduro during a Jan. 3 military operation and transported him to New York on drug trafficking charges.
Since Maduro’s ouster, the U.S. government has been working with Venezuela’s interim government, led by Delcy Rodriguez, to gain greater access to the country’s oil reserves.
President Trump described the military operation as a victory and said the U.S. government is now working with Venezuela to expand oil production. “We had a little war with Venezuela, but we ended it in a day,” he said.
“And we’re now working with them to produce millions of barrels of oil a week.”
Trump defends Ramaswamy’s ad
In his speech, the president renewed his defense of Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy over a campaign ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent in the Ohio gubernatorial race, Amy Acton, which has drawn backlash due to Acton’s childhood abuse.
“Mr. Vivek was treated very unfairly,” President Trump said at a rally in Ohio. “He made his opponent’s mother say that her daughter was a liar.”
President Trump accused the media of treating Ramaswamy differently because he is a Republican.
“The mother said her daughter, Amy Acton, was a liar. She said no. She said she lied about the other person. How could that be his problem?”
President Trump defends White House renovations
After President Obama mocked his plans for the White House, Trump said, “President Obama doesn’t understand cleanliness. Who doesn’t understand cracked stone and sidewalks?”
He said the White House was in poor condition and that he had paid for the repairs himself. “It was repaired very cheaply. I paid for it myself. I fixed it.”
Because I think the White House is the number one symbol of our country. And you can’t build a White House that has broken windows, broken stones, and hasn’t been painted for 30 years. ”
“I have never looked so beautiful,” he said.
He also mocked President Obama’s campaign record as the Democratic presidential candidate.
“He got involved with Hillary Clinton and lost. Then he got involved with Kamala and he lost.”
“They said Obama was coming. I said that’s good.”
