Obama Brings The Fire

Barack Obama hit the campaign trail for Harris and immediately scorched Donald Trump.

Photo: Matt Freed / AP

When Barack Obama took the stage at the Democratic National Committee back in August, I remarked that it was like having a dragon on our side. He’s one of the best orators in modern political history, alongside his wife Michelle.

Precisely when Obama would make his appearance on the campaign trail wasn’t clear at the time, but we all understood that he would save his fire for when it really mattered: in these last four weeks before Election Day.

Now that moment has arrived. President Obama hit the campaign trail yesterday, and he plans to criss-cross the country and hit the battleground states over the next 27 days. And he’s got a critical message for young Black men, one of the last pieces of the Democratic coalition to lock into place. 

If his speech yesterday in Pittsburgh is any indication, the dragon is bringing significant heat. Today, I’ll walk through key parts of his messaging and his speech, breaking them down into four discussions: his message to young Black men, his personal broadsides against Trump, his policy arguments contrasted to Trump’s, and his closing argument. They make for a potent and thrilling combination.

“That’s not acceptable.”

Earlier in the day, President Obama visited a Harris campaign office, where he met with staffers and volunteers and had some tough things to say to Black men in particular. 

Per reporting by the Washington Post, the former president called them out with remarkable candor. “My understanding, based on reports I’m getting from campaigns and communities, is that 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, adding that it “seems to be more pronounced with the brothers.”

He wondered how anyone in the Black community could be undecided or leaning toward the other side. “On the one hand, you have somebody who grew up like you, knows you, went to college with you, understands the struggles and pain and joy that comes from those experiences.” In Trump, he noted, “you have someone who has consistently shown disregard, not just for the communities, but for you as a person.”

And then came the Dad moment: “And you are thinking about sitting out?” he asked. 

He continued with the difficult straight-talk, which spoke the quiet part out loud in a much needed way.

“And 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.”

”[W]omen in our lives have been getting our backs this entire time. When we get in trouble and the system isn’t working for us, they’re the ones out marching and protesting. And now you’re thinking about sitting out or supporting somebody who has a history of denigrating you, because you think it’s a sign of strength, because that’s what being a man is? Putting women down? That’s not acceptable.”

“I almost said it.”

At a packed rally in Pittsburgh later that day, Obama test drove the speech he will be delivering to help get Harris to the finish line. In it, he took some personal swipes at Donald Trump which seemed singularly designed to provoke the famously thin-skinned ex-president. 

Obama hit Trump with successive blasts, each more damaging than the next. He ridiculed him for hawking gold sneakers, $100,000 watches and even Bibles. “Constant attempts to sell you stuff! Who does that?” Obama asked, the crowd laughing and murmuring. “Selling you gold sneakers and a $100,000 watch, and most recently, a Trump Bible. You know, he wants you to buy the word of God, Donald Trump edition. Got his name right there next to Matthew and Luke.”

Obama underscored that Trump was born to privilege and probably never changed a tire on his own, or even a diaper. “His own!” someone shouted. “I almost said it,” the former president laughed. “But I decided I shouldn't say it.”

He may not have said it, but Trump heard it, loud and clear. The jabs seem intended to provoke Trump into an angry response and knock him off his game. On this, Trump already seemed primed. Yesterday, Trump openly complained that Obama received a Nobel Peace prize and he didn’t.

”If I were named Obama, I would’ve had the Nobel Prize given in ten seconds,” Trump complained. “He got the Nobel prize, he didn’t know what the hell he got it for.” Trump continued, “He got elected. So did I… I got elected too.” 

“There’s a lot [of] unfairness in this world,” Trump concluded.

Trump is stewing mightily about Obama, and I’d wager he’s going to hate these next few weeks.

“It was my economy.”

On policy, Obama dragged Trump for politicizing natural disasters and spreading disinformation. He noted that at Trump’s speeches, he had begun a string of lies about federal relief efforts and where money was being sent. “Everybody knew it wasn’t true,” Obama said. “Even local Republicans Said. It. Was. Not. True.”

“You have a guy who will just lie about it to score political points. And this has consequences. Because people are afraid, and they’ve lost everything, and now they’re trying to figure out, ‘How do I apply for help?’ And some of them may be discouraged from 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 okay?’”

He also criticized Trump for not having any real plans for healthcare and immigration, and for claiming he protects women while getting Roe v. Wade overturned. 

And in a moment sure to rankle the ex-president, he accused Trump of taking credit for a roaring economy—one that Obama first had to fix before giving it over to him.

“[S]ome people think, ‘I don’t know, I remember that economy when he first came in being pretty good’—yeah, it was pretty good because it was MY economy. We had 75 straight months of job growth that I handed over to him.”

It’s an argument many have been waiting to hear, and Obama was the right person to make it.

“Get off your couch!”

Obama understands that the way voters cast ballots depends less on whether they understand the policies and character of the candidate, and more on a sense of whether the candidate understands and gets them. On this point, Obama reminded the crowd of Trump’s real priorities as he brought the crowd to a roaring ovation.

“If Donald Trump does not care if a mob might attack his own vice president, do you think he cares about you?” he asked.

“Pennsylvania, we do not need four more years of that,” he continued. “We don’t need four more years of arrogance and bumbling and bluster and division. America’s ready to turn the page. We are ready for a better story, one that helps us work together instead of turning against each other. Pennsylvania, we’re ready for a President Kamala Harris!”

He closed by identifying the complex mix of emotions nearly all Democrats and democracy-loving Americans feel at this moment.

“So whether this election is making you excited, or scared, or hopeful, or frustrated, or anything in between, do not just sit back and just hope for the best.” 

His final call to action recognized that voting is already well underway in many critical battleground states, including Pennsylvania:

“Get off your couch and vote! Put down your phone and vote! Grab your friends and family and vote!”

My ballot arrived in the mail while I was upstate, and I am filling it out as soon as I get back. 

Mr. President, we understand the assignment.