Washington: Former US President Barack Obama launched a sweeping attack on President Donald Trump at a rally in Cleveland, Ohio, blaming his administration’s war with Iran, tariffs and immigration crackdown for rising costs and calling the November 3 midterm elections “the circuit breaker in the system”.
Obama spoke on Saturday at the Cleveland Public Auditorium in support of Democrat Amy Acton, who is running for Ohio governor, and former Senator Sherrod Brown, the Democratic candidate for the US Senate. Brown introduced him.
“This administration’s actions are directly responsible for rising costs,” Obama said, adding that the President “decided to start an unnecessary war that nobody asked for and nobody voted for.”
Turning to the Iran war, Obama said, “Iran didn’t have nuclear weapons because I put a deal in place that everybody acknowledged, kept them from getting nukes, and I didn’t have to fire a missile to do it. I just had to engage in diplomacy.”
Seven months on, he said, “Our allies and our bases have been attacked, Americans have been killed, hundreds of Americans have been wounded, we have run down our stock of missiles and Iran now has veto power over the Strait of Hormuz where oil goes through to the world market.”
“This is the reason why the price of oil is up,” he said. “This is the reason the price of diesel is up.” The Strait of Hormuz is also a key route for crude oil shipments to Asian importers, including India.
On trade, Obama said Trump “loves tariffs” and had been warned that “consumers pay the tab”. “In fact tariffs helped contribute to rising prices,” he said.
“And the big trade war he’s starting now is with that well-known evil empire, Canada,” he said to laughter. “These are the people who gave us maple syrup and Martin Short.”
On immigration, Obama said he believed the border must be “orderly and secure, and that people who want to come here do so lawfully”. He recalled being criticised by Democratic allies for tightening enforcement when he was President.
“But I don’t recall anybody campaigning on sending masked agents running through our streets,” he said. “I don’t recall anybody talking about law-abiding citizens being arrested, detained, or shot.”
He mocked Trump’s White House renovations. “He should be on HGTV. The guy’s building a ballroom that’s bigger than the White House,” Obama said, adding, “there’s gold everywhere.”
Obama accused Trump of using the office for personal gain, citing a pardon granted to a Venezuelan billionaire. “We have never seen a President It’s just straight-up grifter on your dime,” he said. “From meme coins to taxpayer funded contracts for his kids’ companies.”
“Not a single Republican in Congress has done anything to stop him,” he said, naming Ohio Senator Jon Husted, Brown’s Republican opponent.
“This election is our last best chance to at least rein in some of the foolishness of this administration. It’s the circuit breaker in the system. We need to flip that circuit breaker,” Obama said.
Obama also criticised Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy over his campaign ad on Acton.
Obama later travelled to Detroit to campaign for Democratic candidates in Michigan.
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