Barack Obama delivers impassioned speech smashing Donald Trump in Pittsburgh

Speaking to a packed crowd in Pittsburgh, Obama condemned Trump’s misleading statements regarding the government’s aid response to hurricane-hit areas, among several other criticisms aimed at the 78-year-old.

Obama has implored Americans to get behind Kamala Harris as the November 5 election looms, telling voters that their decision should be made on the “character” of the candidate as much as their proposed policies.

“The idea of intentionally trying to deceive people in their most desperate and vulnerable moments – my question is, when did that become OK?” Obama asked, referencing Trump’s claims that aid was being withheld from Republican areas or diverted to undocumented immigrants.

But when the crowd cheered, Obama cut them off.

“I’m not looking for applause right now!” he said.

Taking the opportunity to bolster Harris’ presidential campaign, Obama urged voters to get out and vote.

“Whether this election is making you feel excited or scared... do not just sit back and hope for the best. Get off your couch and vote,” he said.

Throughout his impassioned speech, Obama criticised Trump’s policies, especially his handling of the economy, calling the Republican candidate’s economic success claims “ahistorical nonsense”.“Yeah, it was pretty good when Trump took office in 2017 – because it was my economy,” Obama said, reminding voters that he had spent eight years cleaning up the financial mess left behind by the 2008 financial crisis.

In a particularly pointed moment, Obama called out Trump’s constant blaming of immigrants for problems in the US, describing his promises to address the issue as “outrageously false or dangerously simple.”

Addressing Black male voters, a group that has shown lukewarm support for Harris since she replaced Joe Biden in the race, Obama urged them to rethink sitting out the election.

“You’re thinking about sitting out... because you think that’s a sign of strength, because that’s what being a man is? Putting women down? That’s not acceptable,” Obama said.

No group of voters is attracting more attention from the campaigns than the tiny sliver of the electorate that is still undecided.

While many people long ago made up their mind between Trump and Harris, a small percentage of the population is still grappling with their choice.

These voters “have a hard time deciding. They don’t like to be rushed, and they have equal disdain for both major presidential candidates,” said Rich Thau, who heads a consultancy called Engagious.

Thau has been running focus groups in the seven battleground states that are likely to decide this November’s presidential election — Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

Everyone they recruit to take part is a swing voter — someone who voted for Republican Trump in 2016 and for Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.

Engagious gathers a demographic cross-section of citizens from a particular state each month, who meet on Zoom for a guided discussion about the issues at play.

These conversations have given Thau and his colleagues valuable insights into the minds of people who haven’t yet decided how to cast their ballots.

That includes how they felt about the July earthquake of Biden’s withdrawal and his replacement at the top of the Democratic ticket by Harris.

“They’re forced to choose between someone they don’t like and someone they don’t know very well,” he said.

– with AFP