Former U.S. president Barack Obama hit the campaign trail on Nov. 1, rallying Democrats in two key states and urging voters to reject what he described as the “lawlessness and recklessness”
of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Speaking to a packed crowd at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, Obama strongly endorsed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger. He also campaigned later that evening in Newark, New Jersey, for Mikie Sherrill, who is running for governor there.
Obama, still one of the party’s most influential voices, delivered a sharp critique of Trump’s leadership. “Let’s face it, our country and our politics are in a pretty dark place right now,” he told supporters in Virginia. “Every day this White House serves up a new dose of lawlessness, recklessness, mean-spiritedness — and just plain craziness.”
He singled out Trump’s tariff strategy, calling it “shambolic,” and slammed the president’s decision to deploy National Guard troops to American cities. Obama also accused Republicans in Congress of refusing to stand up to Trump, “even when they know he’s out of line.”
The former president said he was taken aback by how quickly major institutions — from corporations to universities — “bent the knee” to stay on Trump’s good side.
Later in Newark, Obama kept up the pressure, weaving the same themes into a more humorous critique. “It’s like every day is Halloween — except it’s all tricks and no treats,” he joked.
He also poked fun at Trump’s priorities during an ongoing federal shutdown. “In fairness, he’s been focused on critical issues,” Obama said sarcastically, “like paving over the Rose Garden so folks don’t get mud on their shoes, and building a US$300 million ballroom.”
Polls show Spanberger, 46 — a former CIA officer who served six years in Congress — holding a strong lead over Republican Lieutenant-Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, 61.
In New Jersey, surveys give Sherrill a slimmer but steady edge over Republican Jack Ciattarelli, 63, a former state assemblyman running for governor for the third time. Despite Democrats outnumbering Republicans two to one in the state, recent races have been tighter than expected. Ciattarelli lost by only three points in 2021, and Trump narrowed the gap in 2024, losing New Jersey by just six points. Photo by Center for American Progress Action Fund from Washington, DC, Wikimedia commons.
