Obama ridicules Trump with fresh wave of stinging insults at key swing state rally
Barack Obama took aim at Donald Trump’s competence, labeling his personality as an “everything-fake-tough-guy” during a rally in Arizona.
The former president mocked Trump’s recent town hall appearance in Pennsylvania, where he stopped answering questions and danced on stage for 30 minutes after two sick people needed treatment.
“You’d be worried if your grandfather behaved like that,” Obama joked to the 7,000 people in Tucson on Friday.
He also painted the presidential hopeful as a fraud and a hypocrite.
“If he’s not complaining, he’s trying to sell you things,” Obama said. “This is my favorite: He has the Trump Bible – wants you to buy the Word of God, the Donald Trump edition.”
Barack Obama took aim at Donald Trump’s competence and his ‘everything-fake-tough-man’ personality during a rally in Arizona
The Democratic Party icon claimed the Bibles were printed in China, despite Trump’s statements about his firm stance against Beijing.
“So Mr. Tough Guy on China, except when he can make a few bucks selling his Trump edition Bibles,” Obama said. “You can’t make this up.”
The comments mark a more personal style of attack as Kamala Harris appears to be losing ground in key battleground polls, a tough move welcomed by some Democratic supporters, the WashingtonPost reports.
Trump has a narrow lead over Harris in Arizona, but he lost the state in 2016 in part because of his controversial comments about former Sen. John McCain.
President Joe Biden won Arizona by a narrow margin four years ago and there are concerns that Harris is not making enough gains among some key demographic groups.
Obama then appealed directly to the young men Kamala Harris needs to win over.
“I have to say I’ve noticed this, especially in some men who think that Trump’s behavior, bullying and putting people down, acting like he’s a tough guy, that that’s somehow a sign of strength is,” Obama said.
“I’m here to tell you that this is not strength. Never was.’
He drew a comparison to his former opponent, the late Senator McCain, as another way to take a swipe at Trump.
Obama mocked the president’s recent appearance at a Pennsylvania town hall, where he stopped answering questions and swayed to music on stage
The popular Democrat was campaigning for Kamala Harris at a rally in Tucson on Friday
“As I’m here in Tucson, I think of my friend John McCain,” Obama said.
‘I don’t want to romanticize our relationship. But you know what? He understood that some values transcend party.
‘He believed in fair arguments and hearing other people’s opinions. He did not demonize his political opponents.”
He touts how McCain, whom he faced in the 2008 election, once defended him against a woman at a Lakeville town hall who said she didn’t trust Obama because he was an “Arab.”
McCain responded by telling the crowd that Obama was a decent man who he simply disagreed with politically.
“One of the most disturbing things about this election and Donald Trump’s rise in politics is the way we seem to have cast aside the values that people like John McCain stood for,” Obama said.
“When Donald Trump lies or cheats or bullies or shows total disregard for our Constitution, when he calls military men like John McCain losers because they died in combat or were captured… people make excuses for it, that it’s okay as long as their party wins. ‘
He tried to appeal to Arizona voters by evoking the memory of the late former Sen. John McCain and contrasting his qualities with those of Trump.
Obama also directly appealed to young male voters, whom Harris desperately needs to win over, by claiming that Trump promotes toxic masculinity
McCain served in the Vietnam War and was a double Purple Heart recipient who earned a number of other military awards.
After his defeat by Obama, Trump labeled McCain a “loser.”
“He’s not a war hero, he was a war hero because he was captured,” Trump told the crowd during his campaign in Iowa.
Obama mentioned Trump by name almost 36 times, AZ Central reports.
He asked the crowd if they thought the Republican candidate had ever changed a diaper or a tire in an effort to portray him as an outrageous elitist.
‘I understand why people want to shake things up. I understand why people are sometimes frustrated with politics.
“I’m frustrated with politics sometimes, so I get it. What I don’t understand is why anyone would think Donald Trump is shaking things up in a way that’s good for you.”