In his first campaign rally appearance on behalf of Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama urged Americans to vote, saying “we can’t afford another four years” of a Trump presidency.
Why it matters via Axios’ Hans Nichols: With less than two weeks until Election Day, Obama made his case for Biden in Pennsylvania, a state that Trump’s campaign knows he needs to win.
The big picture: The Biden campaign is drawing on Obama’s popularity with Democrats to drive turnout and motivate voters.
- “We can’t be complacent. I don’t care about the polls,” the former president said.
The state of play: Obama addressed a socially distant crowd in South Philadelphia at a drive-in rally Wednesday evening. Before taking the stage, he met with a roundtable of Black male elected officials to talk about the issues impacting their communities and to stress the importance of voting.
What he’s saying: Obama noted that Trump’s tweets and unwillingness to condemn groups such as QAnon have “consequence … They embolden other people to be cruel and divisive and racist. And It frays the fabric of our society.”
- “We literally left this White House a pandemic playbook,” Obama said at the rally. “They probably used it to … prop up a wobbly table somewhere.”
- ‘What we do these next 13 days will matter for decades to come.”
- “You guys delivered for me twice, and I am back here tonight to ask you to deliver the White House for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” Obama said.
Between the lines: Obama used both humor and blistering attacks to argue that Trump is unfit for office, referencing a recent New York Times story on Trump’s alleged business dealings with China.