CLEVELAND — Former President Barack Obama, appearing here Saturday at his first campaign rally for this fall’s midterm elections, characterized President Donald Trump as an agent of “chaos and cruelty” and a man of broken promises.And in a particularly pointed criticism of his Republican successor, Obama mocked Trump’s ballroom construction and the gold accents he has added throughout the White House.“Does anybody really think this guy in the White House right now is spending all our time thinking about these issues?” Obama wondered.“I mean, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he seems very focused on home renovations.
He should be on HGTV.”Obama added, a moment later: “He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”The crowd inside a near-capacity Public Auditorium, which holds more than 10,000, erupted with amusement at that and other quips Obama offered throughout his afternoon address.The former president’s visit was aimed at boosting two Democrats: Amy Acton, the party’s nominee for governor, and former Sen.
Sherrod Brown, who has mounted a comeback bid for his old job.Ohio, which has become more reliably Republican since Trump’s rise in politics, has emerged as an intense battleground this year.Polls show both races are toss-ups, with Democrats especially hopeful of winning the governorship for the first time in 20 years.“This midterm election victory runs through Ohio,” Rep.
Shontel Brown, a Democrat whose district includes a large part of Cleveland, said as she warmed up the crowd.Trump has rallied in the state twice in recent weeks, with a pitch primarily focused on Brown’s Republican rival, Sen.Jon Husted.
Trump will return next week for an event in Chillicothe, a smaller, working-class city that served as Ohio’s first state capital.Meanwhile, the race for governor was jolted this week by the decision by Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate for governor, to air an explosi...