Key Takeaways From Barack Obama’s First Rally for Kamala Harris

Former President Barack Obama on Thursday hit the campaign trail in Pennsylvania to headline a rally for Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for the first time.

After President Joe Biden backed out of the 2024 election and endorsed Harris in July, Obama threw his support behind the vice president. Obama said that Harris would “make an excellent president” and pledged that he and former first lady Michelle Obama would “do everything we can to make sure she wins in November.”

Thursday’s rally took place in Pittsburgh, a Democratic stronghold in the must-win swing state. Polls show a neck-and-neck race between Harris and former President Donald Trump, with a new Quinnipiac poll out on Wednesday showing Harris up three points with likely voters in Pennsylvania. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percent.

Political analyst Craig Agranoff told Newsweek via text message that the rally was “about momentum,” with Obama sending a “strong message about unity and shared vision.”

“Obama’s involvement in Harris’ campaign is crucial at this stage,” Agranoff said. “His ability to connect with younger voters, many of whom see him as a symbol of hope and change, could reignite enthusiasm in a demographic that has historically been less reliable at the polls.”

“If Obama can translate that into increased voter registration or turnout, it could be a game changer, particularly in battleground states where every vote counts,” he added. “But it’s important to remember that ultimately they aren’t going to vote for Obama.”

During the rally, Obama highlighted the differences between Harris and Trump, often going on the offensive against the former president, in an attempt to energize swing state voters in a state that he won in 2008 and 2012.

The following are some key takeaways from Obama’s speech on Thursday.

Obama on Importance of Down Ballot Races

Obama started the rally praising first responders and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) workers who “put themselves in harm’s way” to help those impacted by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

The former president then quickly suggested that the natural disasters had shown the need for “honest and competent leaders,” like Democrats running for office in Pennsylvania.

“It’s times like this when you realize that having honest, competent leadership in government really matters,” Obama said. “And today, I’m asking you to vote for some of those leaders, including some folks who we need working with your outstanding governor … Governor Josh Shapiro.”

“So, we need you to vote for your next auditor general, Malcolm Kenyatta,” he continued. “Your next attorney general, Eugene DePasquale, your next state treasurer, Erin McClelland, and my buddy, your outstanding United States Senator Bob Casey.”

Obama later offered further praise for Casey, who was seated in back of him during the speech, saying that Harris as president would need “a Senate full of serious public servants, like Bob Casey.”

“I can tell you that no one is more humble and honest and more rooted in his community, and has more integrity, than Bob Casey,” Obama said. “All the guy cares about is doing the job and looking after you, the people he was elected to serve.”

“That’s the kind of person we need to send back to Washington,” he added. “That’s the kind of person who’s going to help Kamala get stuff done, folks who share our values and will do what they can to move this country forward rather than backward.”

Obama Rips Trump’s Hurricane Response

Obama denounced Trump for spreading falsehoods about the Biden administration’s response to Hurricane Helene during a portion of the speech where he accused the former president of “violating basic norms of treating people fairly and with respect.”

“We had one of the deadliest hurricanes in American history,” Obama said. “Hundreds of people killed. And President Biden and Vice President Harris were down there meeting local officials, asking people how they could help.”

“Donald Trump, at a rally, just started making up stories about the Biden administration withholding aid to Republican areas and siphoning off aid to give to undocumented immigrants,” he added. “Everybody knew it wasn’t true. Even local Republicans said it was not true.”

Obama went on to suggest that Trump would make similar claims about Milton, predicting that there would be “leaders who try to help” but the former president will instead “just lie about it to score political points.”

“The idea of intentionally trying to deceive people in their most desperate and vulnerable moments … When did that become OK?” he said. “Why would we go along with that?”

Obama’s Digs at Trump’s Economy and More

Obama said during the speech that Trump did “nothing” to improve the economy during his four years in office and had instead inherited an economy that the Obama administration had strengthened over the course of eight years.

“The reason that some people think … ‘I remember that economy when he first came in being pretty good,'” Obama said. “Yeah, it was pretty good, because it was my economy. We had 75 straight months of job growth that I handed over to him.”

“It wasn’t something he did,” he continued. “I spent eight years cleaning up the mess that the Republicans had left me the last time … He didn’t do nothing, except those big tax cuts [‘for billionaires and big corporations’].”

Steven Cheung, Trump campaign communications director, said the following in a statement emailed to Newsweek: “Barack Hussein Obama couldn’t even make a coherent defense of Kamala Harris’ record because even he knows she represents a disastrous four years of skyrocketing inflation, an out-of-control border, and rampant crime that terrorizes communities across the country.”

Obama also slammed Trump’s claim that “everybody” wanted federal abortion rights protections eliminated. The former president often touts that he appointed Supreme Court justices who removed the protections by overturning Roe v. Wade.

“When he’s asked about it, he says, ‘well, everybody wanted it this way,'” said Obama. “Really? He thinks women want to have to drive hundreds of miles to find a doctor who can help them?”

“Does he think doctors want to choose between letting a woman die or going to jail or giving her the lifesaving care that she needs?” he continued. “That is not something people chose.”

Obama also dismissed Trump’s immigration policies as ineffective while mockingly referring to a moment during Trump’s September 10 debate with Harris when he said that he only had “concepts of a plan” for replacing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

“When I hear Donald Trump talking, I’ve got one question,” Obama said. “As I recall, Donald Trump was president for four years. And if rounding up and deporting millions of desperate people and building the ‘beautiful wall’ … if that’s the answer to everything, well, why didn’t you solve the problem?”

“Why were the number of immigrants basically the same when you left office as when you took office?” he added. “I’ll tell you why: Because he didn’t have a real plan, he had talking points, he had ‘concepts of a plan.'”

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Harris and Trump campaigns via email on Thursday night.

Obama Touts Harris Policy Plans

The former two-term president praised Harris and Walz for their policy proposals on Thursday. Obama touted the Democratic ticket’s plans for a $6,000 child tax credit and a $50,000 tax credit for small business startups while continuing to mock Trump’s “concepts of a plan.”

“Kamala Harris, she doesn’t have concepts of a plan, she has an actual plan to make your life better,” Obama said. “If you’re starting a new business, Kamala Harris will give you a $50,000 tax credit to help you get it off the ground. That’s who Kamala Harris is, that’s what she stands for.”

“With Kamala you’ve got actual plans,” he continued. “Trump: Concepts of a plan. Now, if you challenge Trump to elaborate and enumerate his concepts … JD Vance does the same thing … Their only answer is to blame immigrants.”

Update 10/10/24, 9:58 p.m.: This article has been updated with comment from Cheung.