Obama criticizes Trump and Republican policy in stump speech for Abigail Spanberger | Barack Obama
Barack Obama headlined a rally in Virginia on Saturday to secure the victory of the state’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, who is leading in the polls days before the election.
Obama alternated — with a touch of humor — between criticizing Donald Trump and Republican policy and rhetoric, while also explaining how Abigail Spanberger could help Democrats counter what they see as the country’s downward spiral.
“When the president came, he focused on critical issues like paving the Rose Garden to keep mud on people’s shoes, gold-plating the Oval Office, and building a $300 million ballroom,” Obama said. “Well, Virginia, here’s the good news. If you can’t get to the doctor, don’t worry, he’ll get you a dance.”
The former US president stopped in Norfolk, Virginia, in the afternoon to surprise the former representative, who is 14 points ahead of Republican lieutenant governor Winsome Earle-Sears with 55 percent support among voters, according to one poll. YouGov poll It was held between 17 and 28 October.
Obama then spoke on behalf of U.S. representative Mikie Sherrill, who was supported by 51% of voters in Newark, New Jersey; According to the same report, Republican state assembly member Jack Ciattarelli received 42% support.
Speaking after Sherrill, Obama continued his criticism of Trump and his policies. “We have a president who deploys the National Guard into American cities and claims to stop crime waves that don’t actually exist,” Obama said. “We have masked ICE agents in unmarked pickup trucks pulling people, including U.S. citizens, off the streets on the suspicion that they do not look like real Americans.
Amid reports of immigration raids in Chicago and Los Angeles even on Halloween night, Obama said, “Everything is as if every day was Halloween, except for tricks and treats.”
He highlighted Sherrill’s experience as a Navy helicopter pilot, federal prosecutor and mother of four, saying it makes her “the kind of leader who understands the mission.” “He knows who he’s supposed to serve,” Obama said.
Earlier Saturday, Obama called New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and offered to be a “sounding board” if the 34-year-old Democratic frontrunner won the election. He also praised Mamdani’s campaign, a spokesman confirmed to Reuters.
“Zohran Mamdani appreciated President Obama’s words of support and speeches about the importance of bringing a new kind of politics to our city,” said Dora Pekec, Mamdani’s spokeswoman.
Mamdani, a Ugandan-born state assemblywoman, polled well ahead of her main rival, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, ahead of the Nov. 4 general election.
The Nov. 4 election, in states that alternate between Republican and Democratic governors, is seen as an indicator of how the country feels about Trump and the two parties in the off-year race.
“There is absolutely no evidence that Republicans’ policies have made life better for you, the people of Virginia,” Obama said. rally. “They devoted enormous energy to consolidating power, punishing their enemies, enriching their friends, and silencing their critics.”
“It’s time to show America a better direction by electing Abigail Spanberger to be your next governor,” Obama added.
Virginia voters will elect a female governor for the first time. Spanberger is a former CIA analyst who served three terms in Congress; Earle-Sears becomes lieutenant governor in 2022, making her the first black woman to hold a statewide office in Virginia.
One october debateEarle-Sears, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, has focused on culture-war issues such as trans women in sports.
“Are you going to change at a gym where men are naked in the locker rooms?” Earle-Sears asked Spanberger. “Are you going to do that, Abigail? I don’t think you will. What about your daughters?”
Spanberger said there should never be naked men in women’s locker rooms and that decisions about transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports “should be made between parents, educators and teachers in each community, not dictated by politicians.”
At Saturday’s rally, Spanberger said his opponent was “focused on the wrong things.”
“We need a governor who understands that Virginians are struggling to afford rising costs in health care, housing and energy,” said Spanberger, the first Democrat to win his district in nearly 50 years.
Former president praises Spanberger’s rank as one of the best most are bipartisan Council members.
“Abigail has real, practical plans to grow the economy, strengthen Virginia schools, and lower the cost of everything from housing to health care to energy, and she’s willing to reach across the aisle to make it happen,” Obama said.
He cited the thousands of federal workers who have lost their jobs due to the Trump administration’s efforts to cut federal spending. An estimated 750,000 workers were also furloughed due to the government shutdown.
Virginia has a large federal workforce right next to Washington, D.C., and It especially hurt because of these layoffs.
One rally attendee, 60-year-old Norfolk resident Tanya Keller, said she supported Spanberger because she thought Spanberger was reasonable and was concerned about people losing coverage for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid.
Keller, who volunteered for Spanberger’s campaign, said Obama “reminds us what’s at stake, what’s important, and how we need to fight division.”
Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the race has centered around Trump’s policies. Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor, focused on a debate last month over the tariffs’ impact on grocery prices and the impact of the “big, beautiful bill” on health care and utility costs. He said Ciattarelli refused to oppose Trump.
“He will do whatever Trump tells him to do,” he said. “All he says is: ‘Trump is right.’”
