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FORMER US president Barack Obama hit the campaign trail on Saturday, rallying support for Democratic gubernatorial candidates in Virginia and New Jersey while launching a blistering attack on Donald Trump’s administration, which he accused of “lawlessness, recklessness and mean-spiritedness”.
Speaking before a packed crowd at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, Obama urged voters to back Democrat Abigail Spanberger, who holds a commanding lead over Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears ahead of next week’s election.
“Let’s face it, our country and our policy are in a pretty dark place right now,” Reuters reported Obama telling the cheering audience. “It’s hard to know where to start, because every day this White House offers people a fresh batch of lawlessness and recklessness and mean-spiritedness and just plain craziness.”
The two-term former president also denounced Trump’s “shambolic” trade tariffs and his decision to deploy National Guard troops in American cities.
He criticised Republicans in Congress for failing to hold Trump accountable “even when they know he’s out of line”, and accused corporate America and universities of “bending the knee” to appease him.
Later the same day in Newark, New Jersey, Obama rallied for Democrat Mikie Sherrill, continuing his assault on the Trump administration’s conduct. “It’s like every day is Halloween, except it’s all tricks and no treats,” he quipped to laughter from the crowd.
With his trademark wit, Obama mocked what he described as Trump’s misplaced priorities amid ongoing government gridlock. “In fairness, he has been focused on some critical issues,” he said sarcastically, “like paving over the Rose Garden so folks don’t get mud on their shoes, and building a $300 million ballroom.”
Polls show Spanberger, 46, a former CIA officer and six-year congresswoman, leading comfortably in Virginia. In contrast, the New Jersey race remains tighter, with Sherrill holding a narrow single-digit advantage over Republican Jack Ciatterelli, 63, a former state assemblyman making his third bid for the governor’s seat.
Despite Democrats’ two-to-one advantage in voter registration in New Jersey, Republicans have been buoyed by recent results: Ciatterelli lost by just three percentage points in 2021, while Trump trailed Joe Biden by only six points in last year’s presidential election.
Voters in both states head to the polls on 4 November, in what analysts see as an early test of the national mood heading into next year’s presidential contest. - November 2, 2025