US midterm elections 2026: Barack Obama hits campaign trail, cites Saddam Hussein to criticize President Donald Trump, video goes viral. Watch here

US midterm elections 2026 campaign is reaching its high-octane peak as former President Barack Obama criticized Donald Trump's White House decoration with gold during his campaigned for Democratic Party in Ohio. Obama claimed that the incumbent President Trump got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened up a Cheesecake Factory.

Obama delivered a scathing critique of his successor, Donald Trump, at a rally Saturday in Ohio to support Democratic candidates ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. "After two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence, the likes of which we have not seen in the modern era, you get a chance to say, 'Enough is enough,'" Obama declared in Cleveland. "We are voting for change right here in Ohio."

Rising Cost of Living

The 65-year-old Democrat blamed the Trump administration for the rising cost of living, a top voter concern amid soaring fuel prices. "The current president chose to make a series of bad decisions," Obama said. "Most importantly, he decided to start an unnecessary war that nobody asked for."

Obama also urged voters to cast their ballots as soon as possible since early voting is already open in this northern industrial state. "Don't procrastinate, don't equivocate," Obama said.

The former president retains considerable popularity among the Democratic base, which he is keen to leverage to support his party's candidates in the upcoming crucial elections that will decide control of Congress.

Fight for Ohio

In Ohio, former Democratic senator Sherrod Brown will attempt a comeback against incumbent Republican Senator Jon Husted, while the race for governor will be contested between Democrat Amy Acton and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate in 2024.

Polls for Ohio give Democrats a slight lead in both those races, but the results are expected to be close. Nationally, polls also suggest that Democrats could regain control of the House of Representatives but face a much more competitive contest for the Senate.


Barack Obama Campaign Trails

After Cleveland, Obama will head north to Michigan this evening for a rally in Detroit alongside Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate. While both of Michigan's Senate seats are currently held by Democrats, El-Sayed, from the party's left wing, is in a close race with Republican Mike Rogers.

Obama's first event was in Cleveland with former three-term Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, who is looking to unseat Republican Sen. Jon Husted. Amy Acton, a Democrat running for governor against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, will also appear at the rally. Although Ohio has become more reliably Republican, it's been a hotly contested battleground this year.

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have both visited the state in recent weeks to drum up support for Husted and Ramaswamy.

Obama then heads to a rally in Detroit for Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official who is working to unite the Democratic base in Michigan after winning a divisive primary by less than a percentage point. El-Sayed is running against former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican.

Obama’s appearance in the city, which is three-quarters Black, could bolster support for El-Sayed among Black voters. In the primary, his opponent Haley Stevens won Wayne County, which includes Detroit, by about 6 percentage points. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black and South Asian vice president, campaigned for El-Sayed in September.

El-Sayed criticized Obama after his 2012 reelection for not following through on all of his progressive campaign promises, writing that Obama “was not the right choice — he just wasn’t the wrong one.”

El-Sayed told reporters earlier this month he appreciated the former president, calling him “foundational” to his ability to run for office, but there were still elements of Obama's presidency he disagreed with. El-Sayed spoke with Obama on the phone shortly after his primary win in August.

Michigan also has open races for governor, attorney general and secretary of state. Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic nominee for governor, is slated to appear along with others down the ballot. Benson is running against Republican Rep. John James.

Obama will headline a rally in Georgia next week with Senator Jon Ossoff and candidate for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Trump is slated to speak in Georgia Saturday.