‘They mobilized a whole government response to that joke’: Obama laughs off Trump attacks in rally for Ossoff
Former US president comes to Georgia to support Jon Ossoff for US Senate and Keisha Lance Bottoms for governor Barack Obama, speaking at a Wednesday campaign rally in suburban Atlanta, offered a closing argument for Democrats in the final week of the midterm election campaign. “These are not serious people,” he said of Donald Trump and the Republican party. “And we’re all paying the price for their lack of…
Key points
- Obama rallied in Clayton county, Georgia, for Jon Ossoff, Keisha Lance Bottoms and other Democrats.
- Obama said Trump's White House mobilized a government response to his Cheesecake Factory joke.
- Ossoff accused Trump of leading the most corrupt administration of all time.
Barack Obama spoke at a Wednesday campaign rally in suburban Atlanta, making a closing argument for Democrats in the final week of the midterm election campaign. He came to Georgia to support US senator Jon Ossoff, former Atlanta mayor and gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, and other Democrats on his cross-country tour.
Between 3,500 and 4,000 people filled the Discovery Center of Clayton county for the event, just south of Atlanta. Obama said of Donald Trump and the Republican party: "These are not serious people."
Obama on the Cheesecake Factory joke
Obama repeated his criticism of Trump's renovations of the White House and Trump's reaction to his remark last week comparing them to Saddam Hussein decorating a Cheesecake Factory. He said the Saddam Hussein comparison did not bother Trump, but the Cheesecake Factory did, and that "they mobilized a whole government response to that joke."
Obama said the White House even called the secretary of the treasury, who is working on lowering inflation, and told him to hold a press conference in front of the Cheesecake Factory. He also rejected accusations of snobbery, saying he is the father of two daughters and could not have survived their childhood without going there.
These are not serious people.
— Barack Obama
Ossoff and Bottoms make their case
Ossoff said Trump "digs the moral pit deeper" each day and accused him of leading "the most corrupt administration of all time." He said that if Democrats take control of Congress next year, those involved will have to tell the truth. Bottoms tied her Republican opponent, Rick Jackson, to Trump, calling them "two out-of-touch billionaires."
Senator Rev Raphael Warnock warned of "spiritual wickedness in high places" and described cuts to Medicaid and Snap nutrition support for children. He said only a broken nation could elect Trump twice. Trump was campaigning in Ohio at the same time as the Georgia rally.
