Final sprint before the midterms: Biden and Obama campaign together

The 61-year-old Obama recently took an active part in the election campaign. But it was the weekend in the metropolitan city of Philadelphia, the first joint interim appearance with 79-year-old Biden, who was vice president under Obama. A short time later, former Republican President Donald Trump also appeared before supporters in Pennsylvania — near Pittsburgh.

Obama and Biden both warned of the dangers to democracy in the US. “Democracy is literally on the agenda,” Biden said. Obama spoke about forty-five minutes later, looking back on his presidency’s midterm elections. Democrats suffered heavy losses in the 2010 and 2014 elections. “The midterm elections are no joke,” Obama warned in Pennsylvania. “Truth and fact, logic and reason, and basic decency are on the ballot,” he warned of the current Republican nominees.

Democrats risk losing a narrow majority in Congress on Tuesday. While polls suggest the House of Representatives is likely to fall to Republicans, the Senate could be very close. In Pennsylvania, there is a real chance that the Democrats can take over a Senate seat from the Republicans. Democrat John Fetterman is up against Republican and TV doctor Mehmet Oz.

Fetterman, 53, suffered a stroke in May. After a televised duel with Oz, in which Fetterman spoke more slowly and made more mistakes, Republicans questioned Fetterman’s suitability for office. “I had a stroke. That really disappointed me. But I got up again,” Fetterman said in Philadelphia, joking about how difficult it was to speak for Obama. Obama is considered an excellent speaker and also got the crowd in Philadelphia cheering.

About 260 miles away, Trump promoted Fetterman’s opponent Oz. Speaking in front of a plane with his name on it, the 76-year-old repeated the lie about the stolen 2020 presidential election. Again, he indicated that he wants to run for the 2024 presidential election soon. “In the year 2024, we will most importantly reclaim our beautiful, oh-so-beautiful White House. We’ll take it back. And you’ll be hearing about it very, very, very soon,” Trump said. At the same time, he attacked his internal party opponent Ron DeSantis.

Florida’s governor is also up for election on Tuesday — and has a good chance of returning to governor of the southern state. He is reportedly also planning to run for Republican in 2024. He has not yet announced his candidacy. Trump usually avoids mentioning his opponent in speeches at all costs. This time he kept tight-lipped, but referred to DeSantis as “Ron DeSanctimonious”. Sanctimonious means hypocritical in German.

Trump’s successor Biden was still struggling with a political problem the weekend before the midterms. He had stepped on the toes of his party colleague Joe Manchin with a statement about the closure of fossil energy plants. The West Virginia senator is himself tied to the coal industry and has publicly lashed out at Biden. The White House eventually declared Biden’s words “twisted”. “He regrets if anyone who hears these comments is offended,” he said.

Finally, on Saturday, Biden caused a stir with a particularly harsh statement: At a rally in the state of Illinois over the cost of drugs, he called protesters who liken his politics to socialism “idiots.”

Meanwhile, another ex-president got involved in the election campaign over the weekend: Democrat Bill Clinton, who has largely withdrawn from politics in recent years, beat the drum for Democrats in New York State. (sda/dpa)