Obama tells Democrats to push back against Trump

Former US president Barack Obama has highlighted Democratic candidates for governor in two states at campaign rallies, urging voters to reject the “lawlessness and recklessness” of President Donald Trump’s administration in next week’s election.

Obama, who remains popular among Democrats after two terms, delivered a scathing denunciation of the Trump administration at rallies for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger and New Jersey candidate Mikie Sherrill on Saturday.

“Let’s face it, our country and our politics are in a pretty dark place right now,” Obama told an enthusiastic crowd of Spanberger supporters at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

“It’s hard to know where to start,” he said.

“Because every day this White House presents people with new lawlessness, recklessness, malevolence and outright insanity.”

Obama condemned what he called Trump’s “complicated” tariff policy and the deployment of National Guard troops to US cities, and criticized congressional Republicans for failing to control Trump “even though they knew he was out of line.”

He said he was surprised that business leaders, law firms and universities were so quick to choose to “take a knee” to appease Trump.

Later Saturday, at an event in support of Sherrill in Newark, New Jersey, Obama touched on many of the same themes as he continued his criticism of the Trump White House.

“Every day is like Halloween, only tricks and no treats,” Obama said.

The former president occasionally struck a sarcastic tone when talking about Trump’s decisions, such as rearranging parts of the White House, even as the federal shutdown continued.

“To be fair, he focused on some critical issues, like paving the Rose Garden to keep people from getting mud on their shoes and building a $US300 million ($457 million) ballroom,” Obama said.

Polls show Spanberger, 46, with a significant lead over Republican candidate Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, 61. Spanberger, a former CIA officer, served as a congressman for six years.

Most polls show Sherrill with a single-digit lead over Republican Jack Ciatterelli, 63, a former state assemblyman who is seeking the governor’s seat for a third consecutive term.