Obama attacks Trump allies while rallying Democrats in Ohio and Michigan

Obama campaigned for Amy Acton and Abdul El-Sayed in Ohio and Michigan. His intervention sharpened disputes over personal attacks, religious prejudice and political decency.

In Short

• Republican leaders urged withdrawal of Ramaswamy's advertisement featuring Acton's estranged mother
• Acton said opponents deliberately exploited her traumatic childhood for political gain
• El-Sayed faced criticism targeting his Muslim faith and progressive policy positions

Former US President Barack Obama criticised President Donald Trump and his Republican allies over what he described as cruelty and indecency as he campaigned for Democratic candidates in the key states of Ohio and Michigan, Press Trust of India reported.

Obama sought to mobilise Democratic voters ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, which will help determine the balance of power in US politics. He defended Ohio gubernatorial candidate Dr Amy Acton and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed against attacks from their Republican opponents.

In Ohio, Obama targeted Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy over a campaign advertisement featuring Acton's estranged birth mother. Trump and Vice-President J D Vance have defended the advertisement, although Republican leaders in Ohio, including Governor Mike DeWine, have called for its withdrawal.

“In recent days, we have seen there is no line he will not cross, no low he will not sink to,” Obama said of Ramaswamy. He noted that Acton had “spoken movingly about her painful childhood and all she has experienced: abuse, neglect and homelessness”.

The advertisement features Acton's birth mother, Donna Arthur, calling her “a liar” and suggesting that she has mental health issues.

Acton, who served as Ohio's health director during the COVID-19 pandemic, has spoken publicly about facing homelessness and abuse as a child. Arthur lost custody of her children after their stepfather, Cledith Arthur, who was also her husband, was charged with rape involving Acton.

The alleged abuse took place between December 1976 and April 1978. Cledith Arthur failed to appear in court and became a fugitive. Donna Arthur remained married to him until his death in 2004.

Speaking before Obama at the campaign event, Acton addressed Ramaswamy directly. “My opponent has chosen to exploit, intentionally, my childhood to save his stumbling campaign, but it is not going to work,” she said. “Decency still matters.”

She added: “Mr Ramaswamy, you are not just out of touch, you are out for yourself and you are a danger to my state. Apparently there is no low to which you will not stoop.”

Trump, who cast his ballot in Florida on Saturday, defended the Ramaswamy advertisement. “This is a disgrace,” he said. “The mother said that Amy Acton is a liar, and she is no good. And you know what? I do not think you can get a better reference on that.” Trump added that if his own mother had said anything bad about him, it would have received widespread attention.

Although Ohio has become a more reliable Republican state, it has been closely contested this year. Trump and Vance have visited the state in recent weeks to campaign for Senator Jon Husted and Ramaswamy. The controversy over the advertisement has further intensified the contest.

In Michigan, where closely watched elections for the Senate and governor are under way, Obama defended El-Sayed, a former public health official running against Republican former representative Mike Rogers.

Obama condemned critics who, he suggested, were using El-Sayed's name or Muslim faith to attack him. “We have seen this movie before. I starred in it,” Obama told a packed high school gymnasium in Detroit. “I have got a long-form birth certificate to prove it.” He added: “Abdul is as Michigan as it gets.”

The former president rejected claims that El-Sayed was a radical, saying, “Abdul shares my values.” He also acknowledged that El-Sayed had criticised him after his 2012 re-election for not fulfilling all his progressive campaign promises.

El-Sayed had written that Obama “was not the right choice — he just wasn't the wrong one”. Responding to the criticism, Obama said: “Some of these folks say, well, you know, Abdul did not like some of the things you did as president. You know who else does not agree with everything I do? Michelle Obama. Michelle Obama, about five times a day.”

Democrats hope Obama's appearance in Detroit, where three-quarters of the population is Black, will strengthen El-Sayed's support among Black voters. In the primary election, his opponent Haley Stevens won Wayne County, which includes Detroit, by about six percentage points. Former vice-president Kamala Harris, the first Black and South Asian person to hold that office, campaigned for El-Sayed in September.

According to PTI, Detroit resident Chunnika Hodges, who canvassed for El-Sayed on Saturday, said some Black voters were supporting Rogers because they believed little had changed after years of voting for Democrats. She said others were wary of El-Sayed's progressive policies.

“We do not lean to the conservative, but we have seen that within our community,” Hodges said. “There are conservative Blacks, conservative Democrats.”

Obama, 65, also criticised Trump at length during his campaign appearances. He accused the Republican president and his family of widespread corruption and said Trump had failed to lower costs while focusing on building a new White House ballroom and a helipad on the South Lawn.

“I do not know if you have noticed, but he seems very focused on home renovation,” Obama said. “He should be on HGTV.” He added: “There is gold everywhere. He has got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”

Obama acknowledged that Trump would remain president for another two years, until his term ended, but said voters did not have to retain his allies. “We are not stuck with a spineless Congress and Republican governors who are handling lawlessness and carelessness and cruelty and indifference for working people,” he said. “After two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence ... you get a chance to say enough is enough.”

Obama is scheduled to lead a rally in Georgia next week with Senator Jon Ossoff and gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms. Trump is also due to speak in Georgia on Saturday.

Obama's campaign appearances in Ohio and Michigan centred on defending Democratic candidates Acton and El-Sayed, criticising attacks against them and urging voters to oppose Trump-backed Republicans in the November 3 midterm elections.

With PTI Inputs

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