Obama stumps for Spanberger, slams Trump White House

Former President Barack Obama targeted the White House on Saturday as he came out to Virginia for Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger.

Mr. Obama said the White House every day “offers up a fresh batch of lawlessness and recklessness and mean-spiritedness and just plain craziness.”

“We’ve got a commander in chief who fires decorated officers because he thinks they might be more loyal to the Constitution than they are to him,” he said at the campaign rally in Norfolk, Virginia. “He’s deploying the National Guard in American cities, claiming to stop crime waves that don’t actually exist.”

He said that every day in the Trump White House is “Halloween. Except it’s all tricks and no treats.”

He railed against the planned 90,000 square foot ballroom at the White House, along with the paving over of the Rose Garden and redecoration of the Oval Office.

“So, Virginia, here’s the good news — if you can’t visit a doctor, don’t worry, he will save you a dance,” he said. “And if you don’t get an invitation to the next White House shindig, you can always watch the festivities and all the beautiful people on Truth Social.”

He criticized the “conspiracies [and] the weird videos” shared by the administration.

“The point is there is absolutely no evidence Republican policies have made life better for you, the people of Virginia,” he said.

He pointed to Ms. Spanberger as someone who has “a track record of getting stuff done,” mentioning her career as a federal law enforcement officer, a CIA case officer, as a congresswoman, and a mother of 3.

“Virginia, it’s time to point America in a better direction by electing Abigail Spanberger as your next governor,” he said, calling her a “workhorse, not a show horse.”

“Abigail ranks as the most bipartisan member of Congress from the Commonwealth. She’s had bills signed into law by both President Trump and President Biden. That is not easy,” he said. “And Abigail doesn’t just believe in working with everybody, she also believes in listening to everybody, whether they voted for her or not, because she knows that if we want to make progress on the things that we care about, we have to be able to disagree without calling each other nasty names or demonizing each other.”

He slammed Ms. Earle-Sears, saying she “does seem to care a lot about what Trump and his cronies are doing.”

“She praised the Republican tax law that would raise the cost of health care and housing and energy here in Virginia, she supported bills that would strip funding from Virginia Public Schools,” he said. “She says she’s morally opposed to protecting reproductive rights, that she will do everything in her power to cut off access to abortion in Virginia.”

Mr. Obama endorsed Ms. Spanberger in the tight race against Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears last month. Ms. Earle-Sears is currently the lieutenant governor of the state.

Virginia’s current governor, Glenn Youngkin, is a Republican and a Trump supporter.

Ms. Spanberger leads Ms. Earle-Sears in the polls with election day on Tuesday.

The former president is expected to stump for Democratic New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill later Saturday for her race against Republican former state lawmaker Jack Ciattarelli.