Barack Obama hit the campaign trail on Thursday in support of his old friend Kamala Harris, calling out Donald Trump in a blistering speech while wondering aloud if he has ever changed a tire—or a diaper.
The question even prompted one crowd member to shout “His own!”—eliciting a laugh from the former president.
At the Pittsburgh rally, Obama spent much of the time criticizing his successor. He said that while he understands why some voters are looking to “shake things up” given the current economy, “What I cannot understand is why anybody would think that Donald Trump will shake things up in a way that is good for you, Pennsylvania.”
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“There is absolutely no evidence that this man thinks about anybody but himself,” said Obama, who made similar high-profile criticisms of Trump at the Democratic National Convention in August.
“I have said it before: Donald Trump is a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago,” he continued, later touting Harris’ proposed $6,000 tax credit for parents of newborns.
“Because I don’t have to tell a lot of you, raising kids is hard, and she wants to make it easier to afford stuff like a crib or a car seat or diapers. I remember buying diapers,” he went on.
“I remember changing diapers. Do you think Donald Trump ever changed a diaper?” he asked the crowd, which responded with a mixture of laughs and “no”s. One supporter responded with, “His own!”
“I almost said that,” Obama replied, chuckling, “but I decided I shouldn’t say it.”
Obama asked a similar question after touting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who, as he said, has excelled at “working with Democrats and Republicans to get stuff done” and “can also take a vintage truck apart and put it back together again.”
“Do you think Donald Trump can do that?” Obama asked. “For that matter, do you think Donald Trump has ever changed a tire in his life? I’m just trying to picture it,” he said, chuckling.
Obama didn’t stop there. He also needled Trump, who is currently fighting fraud and defamation judgments of $700-plus million, for hawking all sorts of products.
“Constant attempts to sell you stuff—who does that?” Obama asked, citing Trump sneakers, watches, and his “God Bless the USA” Bible, which is actually made in China.
“It’s crazy, and the reason he does it is because all he cares about is his ego and his money and his status. He’s not thinking about you,” Obama continued.
“Donald Trump sees power as nothing more than a means to an end. He wants the middle class to pay the price for another huge tax cut that would mostly help him and his country club buddies. He doesn’t care if it costs more women their reproductive freedoms, because it won’t make a difference in his life. Don’t boo; vote!” Obama urged. “They can’t hear your boos, but they can hear your votes!”
The 44th president also dinged Trump for his passive behavior during the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, specifically his reaction to hearing that then-Vice President Mike Pence was in physical danger in the Capitol as Trump’s supporters scoured the halls for him. “So what?” Trump blurted out, according to recently released court filings.
“If Donald Trump does not care that a mob might attack his own vice president, do you think he cares about you?” Obama said. “Pennsylvania, we do not need four more years of that. We don’t need four more years of arrogance and bumbling and bluster and division.”
Just prior to Obama’s rally appearance Thursday, he spoke at a Black Voters for Harris event in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of East Liberty. There, according to pool reports, he challenged Black men in particular to not be dissuaded from supporting Vice President Kamala Harris because she’s a woman.
“Women in our lives have been getting our backs this entire time,” Obama told them. “When we get in trouble and the system isn’t working for us, they’re the ones out there marching and protesting.”
“And now you’re thinking about sitting out or supporting somebody who has a history of denigrating you, because you think that’s a sign of strength because that’s what being a man is? Putting women down? That’s not acceptable.”
