Obama kicks off midterm rallies, attacking Trump and Ramaswamy's ad on Amy Acton's mother

Cleveland rally and the Ramaswamy ad

Former President Barack Obama spoke at a rally in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday, 24 October, backing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and Senate candidate Sherrod Brown in two races described as toss-ups. The event was his first rally of the 2026 midterm cycle, with the vote set for 3 November. Obama singled out Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign ad centered on Acton's mother and said the choice to run it crossed a line. He put it plainly:

“There's gotta be something inside you where you just say no office is worth stooping that low”

Iran, prices and the White House renovations

Obama argued that Trump had broken a series of promises made on the 2024 campaign trail, pointing to an ongoing war with Iran and to prices that he said had not come down. He said costs had risen further under the current administration, and that the war had given Iran "veto power" over the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that had been open to marine traffic before hostilities began in February. He acknowledged that voters turned against Democrats in the 2024 presidential election over inflation after the Covid pandemic, but said Trump bore responsibility for the state of the economy.

He also mocked Trump's renovations of the executive mansion, likening the gold-accented White House to a Cheesecake Factory run by Saddam Hussein. He jabbed at Trump's tariffs on Canada and called Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth part of an "unserious" team. Describing the midterms as a chance to check the administration, he said:

“This election is our last best chance to at least rein in some of the foolishness of this administration”

Trump's day on the trail

Trump cast an early ballot in Florida on Saturday with First Lady Melania Trump before flying to Georgia for a rally for Republican candidates. Asked about the Iran war, he answered:

“I've done it very effectively and I may have to finish it off, or maybe they'll make a deal, but I'm not sure. either way, we win.”

The White House has said Melania Trump helped secure a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky. When asked whether she would visit Ukraine, Trump told reporters "we will see."

Remaining schedule and the Florida endorsement

Obama was due in Detroit later on Saturday to campaign for Michigan Democrats, including Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official in a tight race. The Cleveland event is the first of three rallies scheduled for him, and he is set to be in Georgia on Wednesday, 28 October. Early voting is already under way for the 3 November election, which will decide which party controls Congress for the rest of Trump's presidency.

On Saturday, 24 October, Obama also released a one-minute video backing progressive state Representative Angie Nixon for the US Senate in Florida, a state he was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win. He highlighted her work as a union and community organizer, her push for a referendum raising Florida's minimum wage to $15 an hour, and her Cafe Resistance bookstore and cafe. He also recalled how she sat in Governor Ron DeSantis' office for five hours demanding to speak with him during a fight over redrawn congressional maps, which led to a trespassing charge settled with a fine and community service. A House panel later voted to reprimand her over the floor protest.