former president obama hit the campaign trail On Saturday, supporters rallied for Democratic gubernatorial candidates Abigail Spanberger and Mickey Sherrill at separate events in Virginia and New Jersey — while taking a few jabs at President Trump in the process.
“Every day, this White House delivers a new batch of lawlessness, negligence, meanness and just plain insanity,” Obama said. both rallies,
The former president appeared with Spanberger, a former House Democrat, at an afternoon rally in Norfolk, Washington, before traveling to Newark, NJ, to join Representative Sherrill of the 11th Congressional District. He tried to compare the president’s actions to both candidates’ records, and said constituents in his states “deserve leaders who will tackle tough problems and bring people together instead of dividing them.”
Obama took several opportunities to throw shade at Trump, accusing him of using the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prosecute his political opponents, criticizing a $300 million ballroom project at the White House and noting “weird” AI-generated videos like the one the president shared weeks ago on Truth Social featuring him. Dropping feces from a fighter plane wearing a crown on “No Kings” protesters in New York City.
“All of this is designed to distract you from the fact that your situation has not gotten better,” Obama told the crowd in Norfolk.
Responding to audience noise at both rallies, the former president brought back a trademark line from 2016: “Don’t cheer, vote.”
“They don’t listen to the abuse. They listen to the votes,” he said in Norfolk, though later Saturday in Newark he said Trump’s “No Kings Day” AI video “isn’t even worth blowing up.”
“Let’s face it: Our country and our politics are in a very dark place right now,” Obama said in Newark.
At both rallies, he said that Spanberger and Sherrill are the candidates America needs right now because they are “in it for the right reasons.”
“Now, his opponent? Not so much,” the former president said at both rallies, referring to Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsom Earl-Sears (R) when he was in Norfolk and former state Rep. Jack Ciattarelli (R) when he was in Newark.
Both Spanberger and Sherrill have generally been ahead of their opponents, but both campaigns have different points of intrigue heading into Election Day on Tuesday. Spanberger has a strong lead over Earl-Sears, but the Democrats relation For the possibility of split-ticket results due to the scandal involving exposed violent messages sent by Democratic Attorney General candidate Jay Jones.
Meanwhile, New Jersey has some high-profile Democrats like Obama race to promote Sherrill amid signs that the race against Ciattarelli may be tighter than expected. Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) is scheduled to speak on Sherrill’s behalf in New Jersey on Sunday.
At both Saturday’s rallies, Obama urged viewers to cast their ballot on Tuesday if they had not already done so through early voting.
“And then you have to call all your friends, your family and your couch-lying cousin,” Obama said in Newark. “Just go, ‘Come on.’ Pick him up from the sofa.”
