Obama criticizes Trump and Republican policy in stump speech for Abigail Spanberger | Barack Obama

Barack Obama headlined a rally Saturday in Virginia to try to secure victory for the state’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, who is leading the polls days before the election.

Obama veered between criticizing Donald Trump and Republican policy and rhetoric — with some humor — while explaining how Abigail Spanberger could help counter what Democrats see as the country’s downward trajectory.

“As for the president, he focused on critical issues like paving the Rose Garden so people wouldn’t get mud on their shoes, gilding the Oval Office and building a $300 million ballroom,” Obama said. “So Virginia, here’s the good news. If you can’t see a doctor, don’t worry, he’ll save you a dance.”

The former US president stopped in the afternoon in Norfolk, Virginia, to attack the former representative who, with 55% support among voters, leads Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears by 14 points, according to a YouGov survey conducted October 17-28.

Obama then spoke in Newark, New Jersey, on behalf of U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, favored by 51 percent of voters, against Republican state Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli, who has 42 percent support, according to the same report.

Obama spoke after Sherrill, continuing his criticism of Trump and his policies. “We have a president who deployed the National Guard to American cities and claimed to stop waves of crime that don’t actually exist,” Obama said. “We have masked ICE agents in unmarked vans taking people off the street, including American citizens, on suspicion that they don’t look like real Americans.

“It’s like it’s Halloween every day, except it’s all tricks and no treats,” Obama said amid reports of immigration raids taking place in Chicago and Los Angeles even on Halloween night.

He highlighted Sherrill’s experience as a Navy helicopter pilot, federal prosecutor and mother of four, saying it made her “the kind of leader who understands the mission.” “She knows who she’s supposed to serve,” Obama said.

Earlier Saturday, Obama called New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and offered to serve as a “sounding board” if the 34-year-old Democratic candidate won the election. He also praised Mamdani’s campaign, a spokesperson confirmed to Reuters.

“Zohran Mamdani appreciated President Obama’s words of support and their conversation about the importance of bringing a new type of politics to our city,” said Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec.

Mamdani, a Ugandan-born state lawmaker, voted well ahead of his main rival, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, ahead of the Nov. 4 general election.

The Nov. 4 elections, in states where Republican and Democratic governors have alternated, are seen as indicators of how the country feels about Trump and the two parties in the off-year race.

“There is absolutely no evidence that Republican policies have improved the lives of you, the people of Virginia,” Obama said at the rally. “They have devoted enormous energy to trying to consolidate power, punish their enemies, enrich their friends and silence their critics. »

“It’s time to move America in a better direction by electing Abigail Spanberger as your next governor,” Obama added.

Virginia voters will elect a woman governor for the first time. Spanberger is a former CIA analyst who served three terms in Congress; Earle-Sears became lieutenant governor in 2022, making her the first woman of color to hold statewide office in Virginia.

During a debate in October, Earle-Sears, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, focused on culture war issues, such as transgender women in sports.

“Are you going to change in a gym where the 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 responded that there should never be naked men in women’s locker rooms and that decisions about transgender athletes competing in women’s sports “should be made between parents, educators and teachers in each community. They should not be dictated by politicians.”

At Saturday’s rally, Spanberger said his opponent was “focused on the wrong things.”

“We need a governor who recognizes that Virginians are struggling to keep up with the rising costs of health care, housing and energy,” said Spanberger, who was the first Democrat to win her district in nearly 50 years.

The former speaker touted Spanberger’s rank as one of the most bipartisan members of the House.

“Abigail has real, practical plans to grow Virginia’s economy and strengthen Virginia’s schools and lower the cost of everything from housing to health care to energy, and she’s ready to mobilize across the aisle to make it happen,” Obama said.

He referred to 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 laid off due to the government shutdown.

Virginia, just outside Washington DC, has a large federal workforce and has been particularly hard hit by these job cuts.

One rally attendee, Tanya Keller, a 60-year-old Norfolk resident, said she supported Spanberger because she thought Spanberger was rational and concerned about the loss of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid coverage.

Obama “reminded us what the issues are, what’s important and how we need to fight division,” said Keller, who volunteered for Spanberger’s campaign.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the race focused on Trump’s policies. Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor, focused during a debate last month on the impact of tariffs on food prices and the “big, beautiful bill” on health care and utility costs. She said Ciattarelli refused to stand up to Trump.

“He will do whatever Trump tells him to do,” she said. “All he says is, ‘Trump is right.'”