Former President Barack Obama came out to support Vice President Kamala Harris in Wisconsin on Tuesday, but at least one rally attendee was looking to turn back time.
“I miss you,” Madison’s aide yelled at the former two-term commander in chief.
“I miss you too,” Obama responded before once again energizing the crowd in support of Harris with a fierce attack on her rival, former President Donald Trump, over the economy.
Obama accused Trump of taking credit for an economy he built during his eight years in office before his presidency.
Obama was appearing at a rally in Madison alongside Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, when he criticized Trump.
“I’ve talked to some people and they said, ‘Yeah, but you know, I remember the economy was pretty good when Trump first took office,'” Obama said. ‘And I said ‘yes, because it was my economy.’
“I spent eight years cleaning up the mess the Republicans left behind,” Obama continued. “I had spent eight years getting the auto industry back on track, reopening factories.”
Former President Obama spoke at a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, where he accused Donald Trump of taking credit for the economy he built over two terms.
Obama’s rally in Madison It is not the first time that he has accused Trump of stealing credit for his economy.
The former Democratic president first made a similar claim earlier this month at a solo rally.
“When I handed 75 straight months of job growth to Donald Trump, all he did was give a tax cut to people who didn’t need it,” Obama said Tuesday.
He noted that Trump also increased deficits at the same time.
“So don’t be nostalgic about what your economy was,” Obama said incredulously. “Because that was mine.”
Obama took office as the country and the world faced the Great Recession that began in late 2007 and lasted until mid-2009.
It had a significant economic and political impact on the United States and took years for some sectors to recover.
Obama appeared in Wisconsin alongside Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz. It was their first joint appearance in the 2024 campaign
Harris supporters watch as Obama speaks in Madison. At one point, someone in the crowd yelled “I miss you.” The former president responded ‘I miss you too’
Obama also claimed that Trump wanted to once again steal credit from his eight years in office.
The former president noted that the Republican presidential candidate wanted to end the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, while he was in office.
“The problem it has now is that it’s popular because 50 million people have used it and still use it,” Obama said.
That’s when Obama slammed Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, accusing him of having the “effrontery” to go on stage during the vice presidential debate and say Trump “saved” the Affordable Care Act.
“Come on, man, Donald Trump spent his entire presidency trying to take him down,” Obama said. “And I couldn’t even do that right.”
Obama also sharply criticized Trump for saying during their own debate that he has “concepts of a plan” to replace Obamacare.
Obama waves to supporters after speaking at the rally with Walz. He will join Harris on the campaign trail for the first time Thursday in Atlanta.
He joked that people could try it at home and responded when asked about washing dishes: “not yet, but I have a concept for washing dishes.”
The crowd loved it.
“If it doesn’t work for you, it shouldn’t work for the president of the United States,” Obama said.
Obama has held a series of campaign events for Harris and Walz in battleground states, but Tuesday was his first campaign appearance with the Democratic vice presidential nominee in attendance.
The former president will hold his first campaign event alongside Harris in Atlanta on Thursday.