Obama Mocks Trump’s Home Renovations, Gold Obsession, and Wealth

Former President Barack Obama kept his barbs sharp for President Donald Trump while addressing a crowd in Detroit, Michigan, standing alongside Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. The former president told the audience that Trump is obsessed with home renovation and suggested he should be on HGTV instead. Obama ridiculed the construction projects at the residence, including a ballroom he claimed was larger than the White House itself. He also took aim at the president's love for gold. 'What's up with the gold?' Obama asked. 'I mean, he's got the one that's looking like Saddam Hussein opened a cheesecake factory.'

The former president accused Trump of using the office to enrich himself and his family. 'The one thing that the current president is focused on other than home improvements is enriching himself and his family and his cronies,' Obama said. He pointed to cryptocurrency ventures and government contracts involving his children's businesses as proof of this pattern. 'We have lost count of all the deals he and his family have done. You can't keep up. Meme coins, taxpayer-funded contracts for his kids' companies,' Obama stated.

Obama alleged that financial dealings with Trump associates reveal a culture of favoritism at the top of the administration. 'This is a culture that's set at the top,' he said. He also mocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, claiming the department focuses on the appearance and masculinity of soldiers rather than urgent military needs. 'He's focused on important matters like the jawline and the testosterone levels of our troops,' Obama said. He criticized the live-streaming of executions as an attempt to build a so-called manly warrior spirit before asking Hegseth how much time he spends looking in the mirror every day.

Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official, is trying to unite the Democratic base in Michigan after winning a divisive primary by less than a percentage point. He faces former Rep. Mike Rogers in the general election. Obama's appearance in Detroit, a city that is three-quarters black, could help boost support for El-Sayed among Black voters. Earlier on Saturday, Obama was in Ohio to denounce what he called cruelty and indecency from President Trump and his Republican allies.

Obama joined Democratic candidates including Senate contender Sherrod Brown and gubernatorial nominee Dr. Amy Acton at a rally in Cleveland. He entered one of the ugliest midterm battles as he worked to energize voters in this battleground state. Obama specifically targeted Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has doubled down on an ad campaign featuring the estranged mother of Democratic rival Dr. Amy Acton. President Trump and Vice President JD Vance have defended that advertisement, even while Republican leaders across Ohio, including Gov

Mike DeWine has demanded the removal of an advertisement that Vivek Ramaswamy refuses to pull. 'In recent days, we've seen there is no line he will not cross, no low he will not sink to,' Obama said regarding Ramaswamy. He noted Acton has 'spoken movingly about her painful childhood and all she's experienced: abuse, neglect and homelessness.'

'There's a decency we should expect out of our public officials,' Obama continued. 'And I don't know what's happened where the standards of behavior are so low that somebody could run an ad like that.'

Obama, 65, remains the Democratic Party's best motivator nearly a decade after leaving the White House. He was set to campaign in Michigan later on Saturday night, lending the Democratic Party his star power in midwestern battlegrounds that will help determine the balance of power in American politics next week.

Obama shared the stage with Acton and former three-term Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown who is looking to unseat Republican Senator Jon Husted. Although Ohio has become more reliably Republican, it has been a hotly contested battleground this year. Trump and Vance have both visited the state in recent weeks to drum up support for Husted and Ramaswamy. And the controversy over Ramaswamy's ad has ratcheted up the already high temperature.

Ramaswamy has defended his decision to press ahead with the ad as fair game. Trump aggressively defended the ad, which has emerged as a national flashpoint in the midterms' final days, as he voted in West Palm Beach on Saturday. 'This is a disgrace,' Trump said. 'The mother said that Amy Acton is a liar and she's no good. And you know what? I don't think you can get a better reference on that.' He added that if his own mother had said anything bad about him, it would be front and center.

The Ramaswamy campaign video features Acton's birth mother, Donna Arthur, calling her 'a liar' and insinuating she has mental health issues. Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown speaks during a campaign rally on Saturday. Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy sparked outrage with an ad featuring his Democratic rival Amy Acton's estranged mom, who accuses her daughter of lying.

Vivek Ramaswamy has refused to withdraw the controversial attack ad despite criticism from fellow Republicans, including Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. Acton, Ohio's COVID-19-era health director, has made no secret of facing homelessness and abuse as a child. Arthur lost custody of her children after their stepfather, Arthur's husband, was indicted on a charge of rape involving Acton. The abuse allegedly happened from December 1976 to April 1978. Cledith Arthur failed to show for a court appearance and became a fugitive. Donna Arthur remained married to him until his death in 2004.

Appearing before Obama, Acton spoke as if addressing Ramaswamy directly. 'My opponent has chosen to exploit, intentionally, my childhood to save his stumbling campaign, but it's not going to work,' she said. 'Decency still matters.' She added: 'Mr. Ramaswamy, you are not just out of touch, you are out for yourself and you are a danger to my state. Apparently there is no low to which you won't stoop.'

In Ohio, Obama also called out Trump's inability to lower costs, a key campaign promise, noting that the president has instead focused on building a new White House ballroom and helipad on the South Lawn. 'I don´t know if you've noticed, but he seems very focused on home renovation,' he quipped. 'He should be on HGTV.' He went on: 'There's gold everywhere. He's got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.'

The former Democratic president acknowledged that the nation has Trump for another two years, until his term ends. But voters are not stuck with Trump's allies, he said. 'We're not stuck with a spineless Congress and Republican governors who are handling lawlessness and carelessness and cruelty and indifference for working people,' Obama said. After two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence ...

Enough is enough. That sentiment sits at the heart of a growing movement, yet real change demands more than just words. It requires action backed by hard facts and an unshakeable commitment to truth. When officials ignore public outcry or push policies that hurt ordinary people, silence becomes complicity. We need leaders who listen before they speak and act before they retreat. The clock is ticking on issues that have been ignored for too long.