Barack Obama returned to the campaign trail Saturday with a sharp warning to Democrats: push back hard against what he called the “lawlessness and recklessness” defining President Donald Trump’s leadership.
Speaking before packed rallies in Virginia and New Jersey, the former president urged voters to deliver a strong message in next week’s state elections, casting the contests as a referendum on Trump’s governance and Republican accountability.
“Let’s face it, our country and our policy are in a pretty dark place right now,” Obama told cheering supporters at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, campaigning for Virginia gubernatorial hopeful Abigail Spanberger. “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.”
Obama, still one of the Democratic Party’s most influential voices, accused congressional Republicans of abandoning their duty to act as a check on the president. “Even when they know he’s out of line,” he said, “they look the other way.”
The former president also criticized Trump’s economic policies, calling his tariff strategy “shambolic,” and condemned the deployment of National Guard troops in U.S. cities. He expressed dismay over what he described as a growing culture of submission among elites. “Business leaders, law firms, universities — all bending the knee to appease Trump,” Obama said.
At a later rally in Newark, New Jersey, where he campaigned for Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill, Obama repeated his call for accountability. “It’s like every day is Halloween, except it’s all tricks and no treats,” he said to laughter from the crowd.
Obama also took a jab at Trump’s priorities, citing White House renovations amid a government shutdown. “In fairness he has been focused on some critical issues, like paving over the Rose Garden so folks don’t get mud on their shoes, and building a $300 million ballroom,” Obama said wryly.
Polls show Spanberger, a 46-year-old former CIA officer and six-year congresswoman, leading Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, 61, by a comfortable margin. In New Jersey, Sherrill holds a narrow lead over Republican Jack Ciatterelli, 63, a persistent challenger making his third bid for governor.
Despite Democrats’ numerical advantage in New Jersey, Republicans have been buoyed by recent close races. Ciatterelli lost the 2021 gubernatorial race by just three percentage points, and Trump narrowed the Democratic margin in the state to six points in last year’s presidential vote.
Obama’s fiery return to the political stage underscores how high the stakes are for Democrats as they seek to galvanize voters and counter what he calls the administration’s “mean-spiritedness and recklessness” before the next national cycle.
