The former US president warns of rising costs, corruption and threats to democratic values ahead of the November 3 vote.

Former President Barack Obama has railed against the Trump administration on a range of issues, including dragging the United States into “an unnecessary war” against Iran, as he campaigned for Democrats in Ohio and Michigan ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.

Speaking at rallies on Saturday, Obama accused President Donald Trump of “chaos and corruption”, as he urged voters to reject Republicans.

The speeches came just 10 days before the elections, with Senate and gubernatorial races taking place in both states.

“The current president chose to make a series of bad decisions,” Obama said in Cleveland, Ohio, where he rallied in support of former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown.

“Most importantly, he decided to start an unnecessary war that nobody asked for,” Obama said.

The former president defended the 2015 nuclear agreement reached under his administration, which restricted Tehran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

“Iran didn’t have nuclear weapons because I had put a deal in place that everybody acknowledged kept them from getting nukes, and I didn’t have to fire a missile to do it. I just had to engage in diplomacy,” Obama said.

“He pulled out of it, starts this war.”

Obama blamed the conflict for rising oil and diesel prices, citing attacks on US military bases, American casualties and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/25/obamas-ohio-michigan-speeches-key-takeaways-on-trump-iran-war-midterms?traffic_source=rss