Former U.S. President Barack Obama has launched a scathing attack on Donald Trump’s leadership, calling it “lawless, reckless, and mean-spirited.”
Obama made the remarks on Saturday while campaigning for Democratic gubernatorial candidates in Virginia and New Jersey.
Speaking before a packed crowd at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, he rallied support for Democrat Abigail Spanberger, urging Americans to vote to “restore decency and sanity” to U.S. politics.
“Our country and our politics are in a pretty dark place right now,” Obama said, adding that the current administration “delivers a new batch of lawlessness and recklessness every day.”
The former president accused Trump’s government of pursuing chaotic economic and security policies that have weakened America’s global standing. He criticized Trump’s trade tariffs, immigration measures, and the deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities, describing them as symptoms of “governing by outrage.”
Obama also condemned Republican lawmakers for their silence, accusing them of failing to check Trump’s excesses. “I was shocked at how quickly business leaders, law firms, and even universities bent the knee to appease Trump, even when they knew he was out of line,” he added.
His comments come as tensions rise ahead of state elections in Virginia and New Jersey, widely seen as early tests of voter sentiment ahead of the next presidential race.
Obama’s speech marks one of his most direct and forceful attacks on Trump this year, amplifying Democratic efforts to frame the 2025 contests as a referendum on the former president’s leadership style and policies