US Presidential Elections 2024: Barack Obama criticises Donald Trump's 'word salad', compares him to 'grandpa'

Former President Barack Obama took a potshot at Republican Donald Trump during his first campaign appearance with Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday. He also reflected on a strategy to disqualify the former president in the closing weeks of the campaign.

Obama criticised his successor for trying to sell people everything from sneakers to Bibles. He also brought up Trump's chief of Staff John Kelly’s statement that Trump told him that he wanted his general to be like Hitler’s generals. “Trump acts so crazy that people no longer take it seriously. But just because he acts goofy does not mean his presidency wouldn't be dangerous. Listen to his Chief of Staff, a four-star general. He said Trump praises Hitler. A good rule of thumb is — don’t say you want to do anything like Hitler,” said Obama.

Speaking in front of 20,000 attendees in Atlanta, Georgia, Obama also compared Trump to  ‘grandpa’ and his two-hour speeches — just word ‘salad.’ He said, “He's trying to sell you gold sneakers. Try to sell you a $100,000 watch. Try to sell you a Trump Bible. Wants to sell you the word of God, Donald Trump edition. I mean, have you seen Donald Trump lately? He's out there giving two-hour speeches, just word salad. He said the other day January 6 was a day of love. He said that. Like it was Woodstock or Coachella. If your grandpa was acting like this, you would call up your brother, call up your cousin, you say, 'Hey, have you noticed grandpa? He's acting kind of funny right now."

President Obama: Trump acts so crazy that people no longer take it seriously. But just because he acts goofy does not mean his presidency wouldn't be dangerous. Listen to his Chief of Staff, a four-star general. He said Trump praises Hitler pic.twitter.com/bYB0YSR5oB

— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) October 24, 2024

Obama began campaigning on behalf of Harris in Pennsylvania and Michigan last week. He was among several other politicians and celebrities who campaigned for Harris recently. Bruce Tyler Perry, Springsteen, Samuel L. Jackson and Spike Lee, encouraged voters in favour of Harris. It is expected that Former First Lady Michelle Obama will campaign for Harris in Michigan today. On the other hand, Trump recently closed his campaign in Nevada and Arizona. 

As per the University of Florida tracker, early voting is underway in over 30 states. So far, 28 million people have already voted ahead of the elections scheduled on November 5, 2024.