Former President Barack Obama was in rare form on Thursday as he quipped and zinged in front of a large crowd in the battleground state of Georgia, where early in-person voting recently kicked off.
In his first joint campaign rally with Vice President Kamala Harris, Obama made fun of former President Donald Trump‘s “word salad” speeches, as well as Trump’s claim that he singlehandedly delivered the US a strong economy.
“Yeah, it was good,” Obama said as the audience laughed and applauded. “It was my economy.”
He also made fun of Trump’s merchandise and the fact that he’s selling Trump-branded bibles.
“He wants to sell you the word of God: Donald Trump edition,” Obama said.
Former President Barack Obama waves during a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in Detroit.
Paul Sancya/Associated Press
At another point in the rally, Obama referenced Trump’s recent swing through a Pennsylvania McDonald’s as a way to contrast Trump’s upbringing with Harris’.
“Kamala wasn’t born into privilege,” Obama said. “She was raised in a middle-class family. She worked at McDonald’s when she was in college to pay her expenses. She didn’t pretend to work at McDonald’s when it was closed.”
And he poked fun at claims that the former president directly sent checks to voters. “‘Donald Trump sent you a check,'” Obama said. “Don’t be fooled. Don’t be bamboozled.”
As the 2024 election season heads into its final lap, Democrats have leaned into Obama’s popularity in the hopes that it will help sway undecided voters and galvanize the party’s base.
So far, his campaign appearances have had mixed results.
He drew chuckles in Detroit on Tuesday night when he took a page from Eminem’s hit song “Lose Yourself,” telling the crowd, “palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy.”
“I was feeling some kind of way following Eminem,” Obama said. “I thought Eminem was going to perform, I was ready to jump out.”
But his comments earlier this month to a group of Harris supporters who are Black were seen as off-putting by some.
He chided the voters, saying: “We have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running.”
He also pointed out that the issue “seems to be more pronounced with the brothers” and suggested sexism might be the reason.
The negative reaction to Obama’s remarks was reflected on social media, according to an analysis from the social media monitoring firm Impact Social.
In Impact Social’s examination of the four days following Obama’s Pennsylvania appearance, online sentiment toward Obama was largely neutral or negative. Only 17 percent of comments from October 10-14 spoke positively of him.
