Obama Skewers Trump At Pittsburgh Rally

Former President Barack Obama has delivered his most personal and furious indictment yet of Donald Trump and a Republican Party he said was under the influence of a man who, he believes, has violated the trust of Americans devastated by a pair of catastrophic hurricanes over the past week, Gregory Krieg and Edward-Isaac Dovere reported for CNN.

Obama, in past campaigns, has relished mocking and criticizing Trump, but his speech and delivery were stinging and unusually visceral. I Photo: Adam Schultz, The White House Flickr

“The idea of intentionally trying to deceive people in their most desperate and vulnerable moments – my question is, when did that become OK?” Obama said, pointing to Trump’s lies about the federal government withholding assistance to hard-hit “Republican areas” or “siphoning off aid to give to undocumented immigrants.”

He added: “Whether this election is making you feel excited or scared, or hopeful or frustrated, or anything in between, do not just sit back and hope for the best. Get off your couch and vote. Put down your phone and vote. Grab your friends and family and vote,” Obama said. “Vote for Kamala Harris.”

Addressing a buzzing crowd in Pittsburgh, Obama drew sharp contrasts on policy and character—criticizing Trump and praising Harris on both fronts—and cast his successor as the mascot for a dangerous and increasingly hostile version of the country.

Obama, in past campaigns, has relished mocking and criticizing Trump, but his speech and delivery were stinging and unusually visceral.

“If you had a family member who acted like (Trump), you might still love them, but you’d tell them, ‘You’ve got a problem,’ and you wouldn’t put him in charge of anything,” Obama said.

“And yet, when 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,” Eva McKend also reported for CNN.