Former President Barack Obama speaks at a rally for Vice President and Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris at the Fitzgerald Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Steve Mellon/Pittsburgh Union Progress)
PITTSBURGH — Describing himself as “the hopey-changey guy,” former President Barack Obama campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris in the city’s Oakland neighborhood Thursday and spent most of his 40-minute speech lacing into former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee for president.
“I cannot understand why anybody would think Donald Trump would shake things up in a way that would be good for you Pennsylvania,” Obama said, “because there is absolutely no evidence that this man thinks about anybody but himself. I’ve said it before: Donald Trump is a 78-year old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down that golden escalator nine years ago.”
He mocked Trump’s “all caps tweets, ranting and raving about crazy conspiracy theories, two-hour speeches, word salad” and his “constant attempts to sell you stuff. Who does that? Selling you gold sneakers and a $100,000 watch and most recently, a Trump Bible. He wants you to find the word of God in the Trump edition. Got his name right there next to Matthew and Luke.
“The reason he does it is because all he cares about is his ego and his money and his status. He’s not thinking about you,” Obama said.
Obama spoke at the Fitzgerald Field House on the University of Pittsburgh campus, and a line of people snaked down the street and around the block hours before he took the stage. The Harris campaign said there were 4,500 people in attendance.
Most Americans say the most important issue for them in 2024 is the economy, which Trump has hammered Harris over, saying she and President Joe Biden are to blame. Obama acknowledged that “the price of everything from health care to housing to groceries, it’s still too high. That takes a real bite of your paychecks.”
But he said Trump shouldn’t get credit for a good economy.
“Some people think ‘I don’t know, I remember the economy when he first came into office, it was pretty good,” Obama said. “It was pretty good because that was my economy! We had 75 straight months of job growth that I handed over to him. And I spent eight years cleaning up the mess that the Republicans had left me the last time.”
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, Gov. Josh Shapiro, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey were all in attendance and spoke at Thursday’s rally. They were greeted by a boisterous crowd who stomped their feet to show their approval, creating a thunderous noise in the arena, especially when Obama spoke.
Obama’s tone was derisive for most of his speech, poking fun at Trump — “Can you imagine Donald Trump changing a tire?” — and ridiculing him for his comment about having “concepts of a plan” to overturn the Affordable Care Act. But Obama grew somber when he spoke about the devastation that Hurricane Helene had left in North Carolina.
“President Biden and Vice President Harris were down there meeting with local officials and comforting families, asking how they could help,” Obama said. “And Donald Trump at a rally, just started making up stories about the Biden administration withholding aid from Republican areas and siphoning off aid to give to undocumented immigrants. Just made the stuff up. Everybody knew it wasn’t true, even local Republicans said it was not true.”
He urged the audience to watch what happens in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, which hit the west coast of Florida overnight Wednesday.
“Just like the last time, you’re going to have leaders who try to help and then you have a guy who can just lie about it to score political points,” he said. “And this has consequences, because people are afraid, and they’ve lost everything and they’re trying to figure out, how do I apply for help? And someone may be discouraged getting the help they need. The idea of intentionally trying to deceive people in their most desperate and vulnerable moments. And my question is, when did that become OK?”
Obama also slammed the Republican Party for going along with Trump’s behavior. “Donald Trump lies or cheats or shows utter disregard for our Constitution, when he calls POWs losers or fellow citizens vermin, people make excuses for it,” he said. “They think, well, at least he’s owning the libs. He’s really sticking it to ‘em. It’s OK, as long as our side wins.”
But, Obama said, Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are candidates who “know what real strength is, who will do the right thing, and leave this country better than they found it,” he said. “It’s not just about the policies on the ballot, it’s about values. It is about character.
“So whether this election is making you feel excited or scared or hopeful of anything in between, get off your couch and vote,” he said in closing. “Get off your phone and vote. Grab your friends and family and vote.”
There is certainly no love lost between Trump and Obama. Trump repeated the “birther” lie about Obama during Obama’s presidency, claiming he was not born in the U.S., a conspiracy theory that has been debunked. Obama later needled Trump at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, while Trump was in the audience.
Obama won Pennsylvania in 2008 and 2012, but Trump flipped the state red in 2016. Biden beat Trump by about 80,000 votes in 2020.
Thursday was the beginning of a campaign swing through battleground states for Obama, who remains popular among Democrats. He and Harris have been friends for 20 years, with Harris an early supporter of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Harris traveled to Iowa to knock on doors ahead of the caucuses, which Obama won. Then-President Obama later endorsed Harris in her bid for U.S. Senate in 2016, a race she won easily.
The two have remained in touch since, with Obama acting as a sounding board and providing counsel when asked. He and Michelle Obama endorsed Harris early on, and the former president has offered to support her campaign however necessary.
Obama gave a rousing speech at the Democratic National Convention in August, praising Harris as ready for the job of president, and criticizing Trump.
The Trump campaign was critical on Thursday of Obama campaigning for Harris, saying it showed “things aren’t going well for Democrats,” and noting the former president’s Martha’s Vineyard house and Netflix production deal.
“And while it’ll probably be a slightly less unhinged affair than what other Kamala surrogates are doing to move the needle, an Obama visit isn’t going to convince Pennsylvanians to vote for another four years of open borders, rising prices, and disaster at home and abroad,” Trump campaign spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement.
Pittsburgh was Obama’s first get-out-the-vote appearance for the Harris campaign, but his office said he has helped to raise $80 million for her campaign. He will continue to be involved in the final weeks of the campaign.
Obama has supported other Democrats in the 2024 election cycle. On Thursday, Casey released an ad featuring Obama, where he praises Casey’s fight against corporate price gouging or “greedflation.”
“People are hurting right now. Meanwhile, corporations are raking in record profits. My friend Bob Casey is fighting back,” Obama says in the ad, calling the three-term Senator “Pennsylvania through and through.”
Obama has also offered support this cycle for Sen. Jacky Rosen in Nevada, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan, Angela Alsobrooks, candidate for U.S. Senate in Maryland and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, candidate for U.S. Senate in Florida.
Ahead of the rally on the University of Pittsburgh campus, Obama visited a campaign field office in Pittsburgh to thank volunteers and said he wanted to speak to Black men, a demographic that is perceived as unenthusiastic about Harris’ candidacy.
“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,” Obama said, according to pool reports. He added the apathy “seems to be more pronounced with the brothers.
“You’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses, I’ve got a problem with that,” he said. “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, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.”
Obama said the November election offers voters a choice between “someone who grew up like you knows you, went to college with and understands the struggles and pain and joy that comes from those experiences,” or someone “who has consistently shown disregard not just for the communities, but for you as a person.”
The former president also rallied the audience on Thursday with a familiar response to their booing when he mentioned Trump. “Don’t boo. Vote,” he said.
The last day to register to vote in Pennsylvania in the 2024 election is Oct. 21.
This article was updated at 1:47 a.m. Oct. 11, 2024 with additional information from pool reports.
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