Obama warns of 'older, loonier Donald Trump' at Wisconsin Harris rally
WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama questioned the mental competency of his successor and the current Republican nominee, warning Tuesday the country can’t afford an "older, loonier Donald Trump."
"There are questions about his competence. I mean, he’s out there giving two-hour speeches. It's like Fidel Castro – just keeps on talking. It's just word salads,” Obama said at a campaign rally for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in Madison, Wisconsin, where in-person early voting kicked off Tuesday.
Obama, who recently returned to the campaign trail ahead of the Nov. 5 election, said he voted early by mail Monday from his hometown of Chicago.
He was joined at the rally in Wisconsin, a key battleground state, by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Walz delivered a similar line of attack, arguing that the 78-year-old Trump lacks the "stamina” to serve a second presidency.
“It takes stamina to run for president. It takes stamina to be president. Donald Trump does not have stamina," Walz said.
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In the final weeks of the 2024 campaign, the Harris campaign has seized on strange remarks and behavior from Trump, as well as a series of recently canceled interviews, to argue the Trump is unfit and unstable to be president again. The Trump campaign fired back Tuesday by slamming Harris' paired back schedule of afternoon television interviews.
Obama mocked Trump for a campaign town hall last week where Trump stood on the stage for 39 minutes while some of his favorite songs played over the venue’s sound system.
“He decided, no I’m not going to answer questions anymore. Let’s just play music for half an hour,” Obama said. “So, he’s standing there, and he’s swaying to ‘Ave Maria,’ and ‘YMCA.’”
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Obama added: "Can you imagine if Tim did that, or Kamala did that, or I did that? Now our playlist would be better. But you would say to yourself, this is odd behavior. He calls himself the ‘father of IVF.’ I have no idea what that means. You don’t either.”
The former president said, “You’d be worried if grandpa were acting like this.”
“But this is coming from someone who wants unchecked power. So Wisconsin, we do not need to see what an older, loonier Donald Trump looks like with no guardrails. America is ready to turn the page.”
Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Barack Obama warns of 'older, loonier Donald Trump'