DETROIT: Former US President Barack Obama attacked President Donald Trump’s ethics and Iran policy at Democratic rallies in Cleveland and Detroit on Saturday.
The appearances came 10 days before the November 3 US midterm elections. Campaigning for Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Obama urged voters to use the election to check Trump’s presidency.
“We got to flip that circuit breaker,” Obama said. Obama accused Trump and Republican leaders of corruption and ineffective government. He also mocked White House renovations and criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Trump responded early Sunday on Truth Social. He called Obama incompetent and directed personal attacks at El-Sayed. Obama also challenged the administration’s claims of victory against Iran.
He argued that threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had given Tehran greater economic leverage and unsettled oil exporters.
Trump countered that Obama’s 2015 nuclear agreement paid Iran billions and placed it on a path towards a nuclear weapon. The United States withdrew from that agreement during Trump’s first term.
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A Reuters/Ipsos poll in August found that 63% of respondents believed Trump and his family had profited improperly from cryptocurrency.
Read: US Midterm Elections Put Trump Foreign Policy Costs in Focus
Another 69% believed his business interests influenced policy decisions. El-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers in a closely contested Michigan Senate race.
The November 3 elections will determine control of the closely divided US Congress. Barack Obama attacked Donald Trump’s ethics and Iran strategy while campaigning for Democrats in Cleveland and Detroit before the November 3 midterms.
