Former President Barack Obama ripped into President Donald Trump in Cleveland on Oct. 24 as Democrats aim to energize voters ahead of a close midterm election in Ohio.
Obama joined former Sen. Sherrod Brown and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton for a rally at Cleveland Public Auditorium. Brown and Acton are locked in tight races ahead of the Nov. 3 election, which could determine control of the U.S. Senate and put a Democrat in the Ohio governor’s office for the first time since 2011.
Speaking to thousands of supporters, Obama portrayed Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as an opportunist and Sen. Jon Husted as a rubber stamp for the Trump administration.
“We’ve got two more years in this administration,” Obama said. “That’s how our system of government works. But you know what we’re not stuck with? We’re not stuck with the spineless Congress and Republican governors who are enabling lawlessness and carelessness and cruelty and indifference for working people.”
The event marked Obama’s first trip to the Buckeye State since 2018, when he campaigned for Rich Cordray during his race against Gov. Mike DeWine.
This time, the former president blamed Trump for rising costs and attacked his policies on immigration and foreign policy. Obama also needled the president over his efforts to remodel the White House, saying it looks “like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”
Obama blasts Ramaswamy ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother
But Obama’s appearance, first and foremost, sought to boost Acton and Brown amid races that have put Ohio at the center of the political map.
Democrats have struggled to win statewide office in Ohio since Trump and the GOP made inroads with disaffected voters. The party sees a window of opportunity on Nov. 3 as Trump’s approval rating drops and voters struggle with the cost of living, including high gas prices.
“The national media’s never going to write off Ohio ever again,” Brown said.
Husted spokesperson Amy Natoce said policies backed by Obama and Brown raised taxes and enabled chaos at the southern border, adding: “The sight of Sherrod Brown and Barack Obama together again should send shivers down Ohioans’ spines.”
Former U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks during a political rally, Oct. 24, 2026, at Public Auditorium and Conference Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
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Obama’s visit also came amid backlash over an ad from Ramaswamy that shows Acton’s estranged mother accusing Acton of lying about her childhood and urging Ohioans not to vote for her. Acton’s mother, Donna Stearns Arthur, lost custody of her children after Acton’s stepfather was charged with sexually abusing Acton as a child.
“I don’t know what’s happened where the standards of behavior have gotten so low that somebody can run an ad like that,” Obama said. “There’s got to be something inside you where you just say no office is worth stooping that low.”
Ramaswamy has doubled down on the ad and rebuffed DeWine’s call to take it down. In a statement before Obama’s speech, Ramaswamy spokesperson Connie Luck criticized the Affordable Care Act, Obama’s signature health care law, and said “Ohioans can’t afford a liberal governor who shows up for Obama but never shows up for them.”
“In Ohio, we work hard and we watch out for one another,” Acton told the crowd. “My opponent just doesn’t get it. Mr. Ramaswamy, you are not just out of touch. You are out for yourself, and you are a danger to my state.”
State government reporter Haley BeMiller can be reached at hbemiller@usatodayco.com or @haleybemiller on X.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘We are voting for change right here in Ohio,’ Obama tells Cleveland crowd
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