Former President of the United States, Barack Obama, strongly criticized Donald Trump on the evening of Thursday, October 10, and encouraged voters to support Kamala Harris as he officially joined the 2024 election campaign for the first time.
As he campaigned in the must-win state of Pennsylvania, Obama also chided Black male voters for what he called hesitancy in supporting Democrat Harris because they “just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president.”
US Elections: At a Kamala Harris event, Barack Obama refers to Trump’s ideas as “cr@zy.”
Obama trained his fire on Trump during a pumped-up rally in Pittsburgh, comparing the Republican’s long speeches to late Cuban communist leader Fidel Castro’s and calling the billionaire out of touch with ordinary people.
Obama admitted that “this election’s going to be tight” as many voters were still struggling with high prices.
“What I cannot understand is why anybody would think that Donald Trump will shake things up”, adding: “You think Donald Trump ever changed a diaper?’
The popular Democrat called Trump’s schemes to sell bibles as “cr@zy” and used the same word to describe the 78-year-old former leader’s embrace of conspiracy theories.
As the crowd booed Trump, his successor in the White House, Obama added: “Don’t boo — vote.”
“Kamala is as prepared for the job as any nominee for president has ever been,” he added.
Vice President Harris’s campaign said Obama’s appearance, the first in a series in battleground states before the November 5 election, was designed to get people out to vote in crucial Pennsylvania.
Obama’s focus was the male voters who might be attracted by Trump’s masculine appeal.
“I’m sorry gentlemen, I’ve noticed this, especially with some men who seem to think Trump’s behaviour, the bullying and the putting people down, is a sign of strength,” he said.
Saying he had some “truths” that he wanted the Black community to hear, Obama said that “You’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses, I’ve got a problem with that.”
“Because part of it makes me think — and I’m speaking to men directly — part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president,” Obama said
Harris was in Nevada for a town hall hosted by the Spanish language network Univision Thursday and later spoke at a rally in Arizona.
When a woman asked Harris at the town hall to name three of Trump’s virtues, she replied: “I think Donald Trump loves his family, and I think that’s very important…. But I don’t really know him, to be honest with you. I don’t have much more to offer you.”