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Trump, Obama On Campaign Trail 10 Days Out From Election Day; Officials: 400K People Protested Today Across France; New York Attorney Letitia James Vows To Protect Voting Rights. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 24, 2026 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[18:00:38]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi everyone, I am Jessica Dean here in New York.

The final sprint to election day heating up with top leaders from both parties on the campaign trail tonight, President Donald Trump set to campaign in Georgia shortly, while former President Barack Obama is in Michigan. With just 10 days to go until election day, the two high profile surrogates are looking to shore up voter support in key races.

As Trump tells his base to pretend he is on the ballot this election cycle, Obama is telling voters to see this election as a referendum on the last two years of President Trump's presidency. Here is what Obama said at a rally in Ohio earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: After two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence, the likes of which we have not seen in modern times, you get a chance to say enough is enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The Democrats' closer-in-chief, also throwing his support behind two Florida candidates today, Obama said he is supporting the Democratic socialist running for Senate, that's Democratic nominee, Angie Nixon and also the Democrat running for governor there in Florida, David Jolly.

His support and reliably red Florida, the latest sign Democrats are going on offense this election cycle and hoping to expand their map into areas that tend to vote Republican.

We have CNN correspondents, Arlette Saenz in Detroit and Julia Benbrook in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Arlette, let's start first with you. President Obama is there in Michigan campaigning for Abdul El-Sayed in that Senate race, trying to shore up support in what is a tight race that followed a bruising Democratic primary. What's the state of play tonight?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, Michigan is a must win state for Democrats in their quest to reclaim the Senate Majority, and they are hoping that former President Barack Obama will help motivate their voters to get out and vote for Abdul El-Sayed over the course of the next 10 days. But tonight, there really will be a remarkable and very rare presidential split screen, as he has former President Obama campaigning here in Michigan and President Donald Trump holding his own rally down in Georgia.

Trump is also set to visit the state of Michigan tomorrow to campaign for Republicans in the state, including Mike Rogers, who is running for Senate here.

But as you heard a bit earlier, Obama used his campaign appearance in Ohio to lay out the stakes of the election, including very sharp criticism of Trump, who succeeded him in the White House in 2017. But President Obama also tried to issue a call to voters to ensure that they turn out in this election for Democrats trying to argue that they are not powerless and they do have a say in the direction of the country. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: We've got two more years in this administration. Well, wait, wait, wait. I mean, wait, hold up. I mean, I am just -- that's how our system of government works. But you know what? You know what we are not stuck with? We are not stuck with a spineless Congress and Republican governors who are enabling lawlessness and carelessness and cruelty and indifference for working people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, El-Sayed was engaged in a very contentious Democratic primary against Congresswoman Haley Stevens back in August and he is still working to keep that Democratic coalition together. El-Sayed still has work to do to win over Jewish Democrats, some who are uneasy with his campaign, and also Black voters who had sided with his opponent, Stevens, in that primary race.

Obama could be a key factor in motivating Black voters, especially in a state like Michigan, where he won when he ran for President in 2008 and 2012. Now, I've also learned that today will actually be the very first time that President Obama and Abdul El-Sayed are meeting in person.

They spoke shortly after the Democratic primary in August, but this will be the first time they are here face-to-face, and El-Sayed is turning to a very familiar figure from the past in Obama in trying to help secure the Senate majority for the future.

[18:05:10]

DEAN: That's right. Arlette Saenz there in Detroit. Thank you so much.

Let's turn now to Julia Benbrook in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Julia, the President there earlier today where he voted along with First Lady, and now he goes to a rally in Georgia to try to motivate his base. What has he been saying?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: His message has remained pretty consistent throughout this last month, he promised to hit the campaign trail hard, and he has done that. He has repeatedly called on Republicans to pretend like he is on the ballot. It is an effort to motivate his base to go out to the polls and messaging that some in the Republican Party hope still resonates, as his approval rating has been at career lows.

But he went to the polls himself today alongside First Lady Melania Trump, to cast their ballots. They joined the more than 23 million Americans who have already cast their ballots, and that data is giving us some insights.

So far, Democrats have had a larger part of the puzzle there than they did at this time two years ago. So they are showing up, and that is highlighting some of the Democratic enthusiasm edge that we have seen recently when it comes to primary turnout, special elections, as well as polling in general.

But of course, that recent data, it really only shows who is voting. It doesn't show what candidates or what issues are motivating them to do so and Republicans tend to prefer to vote on Election Day.

After trump voted today, he was asked, did you vote along party lines? He said, very much so. He also took that time to highlight his recent campaigning and how effective he believes it has been. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: In fact, I heard a couple of the outlets say nobody else has ever done it, and it is hard because I am not campaigning for myself, I am campaigning for other people, some of whom I don't know, but in all cases I find them to be very good.

Some are really outstanding people, like in Kansas, like in Texas. I mean, in Nebraska. I think we made a big improvement. I would say that just about every place I've been, we've brought them way up -- South Carolina Lindsey's sister is fantastic, Darline, I will be doing another one there, I think.

But they've all come up and they're all doing well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: So running through detailing some of those key areas of focus tonight, he will be in Georgia tomorrow, and Michigan on the schedule next week. We expect him to make stops in Mississippi, Texas and Ohio.

So it really is down to this finish line, just 10 days to go and he will be busy in the coming days.

DEAN: All right, Julia Benbrook there in Florida. Our thanks to you and also Arlette Saenz. As Julia just mentioned, 23 million early votes have already been cast, many more expected in the coming days. And our chief data analyst, Harry Enten, runs the numbers on the issues motivating voters, and there are some surprises -- Harry.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Hey there, Jessica. Happy Saturday to you.

You know, you know me and you know me. You know I love looking at the polls. I look at them day, I look at them night. I look them overnight. I look at them on weekdays. I look at them on weekends. I dream polls!

And you know what? Oftentimes, I see a piece of polling data. I go, you know what? That's what I generally expected.

But sometimes, there is a surprise that sort of jumps off the page, and I am talking about the secret top issue of 2026. And what is the secret top issue of 2026? Well, for me, it is government corruption. Look at this. Take a look here. Voters who are extremely concerned, number one on your list is government corruption at 60 percent. That beats out inflation, which comes in at 58 percent. It beats out gas prices 50 percent, and it beats out government leadership at 49 percent.

Government corruption in poll after poll that I am now seeing ranks at or near the top of the list of the list of issues, the issues that voters are most concerned about. Now why is that? What is going on here?

Well, what is going on is rather simple. Okay, say government corruption is widespread. This number up like a rocket through the roof.

You know, in 2006, it was 59 percent. By 2016, it was 76 percent. Now look at this. You never see an issue on which 89 percent of the American people agree, but they now do agree, it is a record high this year. They say that government corruption is widespread. And, you know, one of the people that they do not like on corruption at all. Well, it is the President of the United States. These are not good numbers.

If you are a Republican in The White House or a Republican running for Congress, Trump's net approval rating on corruption at this time in Trump's terms. Look at this, in 2018, it wasn't too hot to trot right, 13 points underwater, way down there. We are talking well underneath the Hudson River.

But look now, look at Trump's net approval rating now on corruption. It is 35 points underwater. I mean, my goodness gracious. You can't get lower than that.

[18:10:07]

I mean woof, this is absolutely atrocious. We are talking about a drop of what is that? That's 22 points in the wrong direction for Trump at this point going into this midterm compared to his first presidency back in 2018. But to me, part of what is going on here and why this is such a troubling sign is because corruption to me, sort of ties in to how voters feel that the system is not working for them, whether it be on corruption or whether it be on the economy, which I think in their minds is linked -- are linked because look at this.

Okay, say Trump is prioritizing a lot since taking office in 2025, his business interests come in at 56 percent. Look at this. Look at this right here. People like me, just 11 percent, people do not feel that the Trump administration is focusing on the issues that are most important to them. We see that in poll after poll after poll. They instead think that he is, in fact, focusing too much on his business interests.

Now, this, of course, isn't just about Donald John Trump, right, Jessica, what we are really talking about is the midterm elections, and this is the number that I think should really scare Republicans because it is a historical comparison. And take a look here, okay, trust which party more on corruption. Look at this, Democrats now have a ten point advantage on that issue.

Now compare that to 2006, which of course was a midterm in which Democrats absolutely ran the table. They took back not just the House of Representatives, but gained a majority in the United States as well.

Look at this ten, nine, nine, ten, very similar numbers. And I will note that in 2006, one of the main issues of that campaign, what was government corruption, just like it is during this campaign, according to the most recent polling that we have. And I know that Democrats very much would like this result to match this result.

Of course, Jessica, we will just have to wait and see, but you know what the good news is, the election just keeps getting closer and closer and closer. So we will find out soon enough.

Anyway, taking a look at my fake watch here. My time here is up, so I give it back to you.

DEAN: Thank you, Harry. And yes, the voters will tell us very soon.

Still to come here, growing backlash over a controversial attack ad at the center of Ohio's race for governor. Why some Republicans worry President Trump is adding fuel to the fire there.

Plus, more protests in the streets of France after last weekend's massive demonstrations turned violent. What we know about the clashes from today, that's next here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:17:11]

DEAN: New tonight, another wave of protests across France from Paris to Lyon. More than 400,000 people marching in what officials are calling mostly peaceful demonstrations against the high cost of living and poor conditions at schools. Officials say there was far less damage and looting compared to last week.

After those main marches ended, though, police did clash with smaller, more aggressive groups.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

DEAN: In Paris, police used teargas and a water cannon to block a crowd of protesters trying to confront officers. Over 2,000 gathered in Nice, even though demonstrations were prohibited in the city. The city deployed the largest number of police officers in its history and, according to the mayor, members of a far-right group attacked people protesting peacefully.

Shops began boarding up their displays on Friday. A number of tourist attractions in Paris were closed, including The Louvre. The NFL closed its fan experience before its first ever game there in Paris.

CNN's Clarissa Ward has the latest -- Clarissa.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There has been a pretty much constant volley of teargas, stun grenades, the riot police who you can probably see behind me. Oh, it looks like there is some kind of a charge happening there right now behind me. If our camera --

There is another stun grenade and people are running, and this is the sort of pattern that we have seen playing out time and time over and over again over the last few hours. It had been very peaceful earlier on during the day. The march lasted a couple of hours. More than 100,000 people reported to have attended here in Paris. More than 400,000 nationwide. But there have been these persistent clashes with the police, not just here in Paris, also in the city of Lyon and the city of Marseille and elsewhere.

Now, one thing that's interesting, we are in a very different part of town to where the protests took place last Saturday. Last Saturday, it was really in a very central area. This week in order to try to stop some of those scenes and the worst violence and looting that we saw last week, the police had, I should say, the authorities changed at the last minute, the route of the protests and kind of pushed the protesters right out onto the very edge of Central Paris.

So this is a very different area and has a very different characteristic. It is a much poorer area. We are not seeing, I should say, I haven't seen any kind of looting, but we have been hearing constant chants of everybody hates the police and "ACAB! ACAB" which is an acronym for all cops are bastards. And clearly there is a lot of antagonism here.

DEAN: All right, Clarissa Ward in Paris for us. Thank you so much for that reporting.

[18:20:03]

Protesters also taking to the streets in Italy, where the government recently passed a law and order decree giving police more power.

Hundreds rallied against the war in the Middle East, while others gathered against government leadership and the cost of living.

CNN Rome correspondent, Stefano Pozzebon has the latest now from Rome.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN ROME CORRESPONDENT: Protesters marched from the Central Station down to the Coliseum, and as it often happens in these Gen Z protests, its several grievances melting together, people protesting against global warming, but also Italy's presence in the NATO, the war in the Middle East, and more than anything, the cost of living and of course, the cost of housing and rental prices.

But more than anything, this generation is telling us that they do not feel listened to.

SOFIA BARONTI, ITALIAN PROTESTER: We need to be here for people that are younger than us and older than us, that cannot manifest, cannot make their voices heard, and it is important because, you know, it is our life, it is our future life. And so I just think it is very important to.

ASH, ITALIAN PROTESTER: We have a really big problem in our nation, and we deserve to be respected by the government because the government is not listening to us.

POZZEBON: After last week's clashes, the Meloni government drafted a new security decree that gives new powers to the police. But at least judging from the people around me, many are not satisfied with them, and we need to understand whether perhaps the streets will fill up once again in the coming days and weeks.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right, Stefano, thank you for that.

Still to come here, early voting now underway in New York City. It started today, and we are live from an early polling station -- early voting polling station in New York City. That's next week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:26:22]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: There is a decency that we should expect out of our public officials, and I don't know what's happened, where the standards of behavior have gotten so low that somebody can run an ad like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Former President Barack Obama hitting the campaign trail today in Ohio. You heard him there slamming Republican candidate for governor, Vivek Ramaswamy over a controversial attack ad that's roiling his campaign just ten days out. But Ramaswamy and President Trump doubling down on that ad featuring the estranged mother of Democratic candidate, Amy Acton, calling her daughter a liar and saying she can't be trusted.

Acton's mother lost custody of her and her brother when Acton was just 12 years old, after her stepfather was indicted by a grand jury on charges of sexually abusing Acton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Do you change your mind about the ad?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: No. It is a mother speaking badly against Amy Acton. And to me, it is very easy. The mother --

REPORTER: But they haven't talked -- they haven't talked.

TRUMP: I don't care, the mother looks like she is totally lucid. She looks very smart, actually. And she felt she had an obligation to Ohio voters to tell them that her daughter is a liar.

VIVEK RAMASWAMY (R), OHIO GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Our ad had nothing, nothing to do with childhood abuse, sexual abuse. We condemn that as forcefully as anyone.

Our ad was about a consistent track record of Amy Acton telling lies, including during this campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Again, Amy Acton's mother lost custody of her and her brother when she was 12 years old after all of that.

The ad has sparked bipartisan backlash. Multiple Republicans in Ohio have condemned the ad, including incumbent Senator Jon Husted, who is up for re-election.

Joining us now is someone who is very well versed in Ohio politics, Amy Juravich. She is the host and executive producer of "All Sides" with Amy Juravich, and on Ohio's public radio, WOSU.

Amy, thank you so much for being here tonight. Take people there to Ohio with you. How has this ad impacted the race?

AMY JURAVICH, HOST AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF "ALL SIDES" WITH AMY JURAVICH: Oh, it has impacted everything. I mean, Ohio never expected to make national news and international news for its governor's race. The Senate race is what everyone has been talking about. You know, who is going to take control of the Senate. Ohio is key in that.

But now the governor's race is what everyone is talking about, and this ad really came as a surprise to Ohioans, I would say. I think the race has been very nasty. "The New York Times," before this ad came out, "The New York Times" called this governor's race the nastiest in the country. So the Ohio public was used to a negative ads from both sides.

But I think this ad really surprised everyone, and a lot of people feel it crossed a line.

DEAN: Yes, it really seemed it certainly cut through. How has the President's involvement in all of this factored into the race?

JURAVICH: It will be really interesting to find out. I mean, I think we will find out, you know, in a little over a week on election day, because President Trump has come to Ohio twice already. President Trump won Ohio three times, the most recent time by 11 points, so this is a red state. And the President is very well liked in a lot of parts of Ohio, but he has come here twice. He is coming again this coming week. So three times in a month to stump for Jon Husted and for Vivek Ramaswamy and I think it is -- you know, we are going to find out what voters think.

[18:30:10]

He has been in all of his stops, whenever he comes here, he tells Ohioans to vote like he is on the ballot, pretend I am at the top of the ticket, he says in his campaign speeches.

So we will see if the Republicans come out and vote. The MAGA Republicans come out and vote as though Trump is on the ticket.

DEAN: Yes, and is the sense that you're getting that it is not about maybe persuading those voters to -- Democrats aren't trying to persuade those voters that maybe it is more about they may just stay home. They may just not go vote, and that Trump is trying to make sure they actually go out and vote.

JURAVICH: That's true. Yes. There are a lot of worries that how negative this campaign has been has turned people off to both candidates, all candidates, all politics in general -- that people are going to just stay home and say it doesn't matter what I vote anyway. Maybe there are some people who probably feel like they are all, to a certain extent, lying, or the ads are really bad for everyone. And why bother voting?

So I think that that's another reason that President Obama was here today. He wants to make sure people go out and vote. President Trump is coming back this week to make sure people go out and vote.

I will say that this has kind of galvanized some of the Democratic base. There are long lines at early voting in certain counties around the state. You know, just longer lines than you would expect, right, for you know, more than a week ahead of the election.

And so people are going and they are like, I've already made my decision. I am going to go and vote early and vote now.

So I mean, I hope, you know, personally, I hope people still go out and vote.

DEAN: Yes. I mean, we are seeing record breaking, early voting numbers kind of in different places all across the country.

We have a CNN Poll of Polls where we take all the polling that we've got and average it out and it shows Acton ahead of Ramaswamy and Sherrod Brown leading Senator Husted in that race for Senate. I am curious, as you've been covering all of this, what seemed to be the issues that keep coming back up in these races that people are focused on?

JURAVICH: Well, affordability is what everyone wants to talk about. The ads, and this ad in particular is what everyone is talking about right now. But affordability is what everyone wants to talk about.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Ohio Republicans came together and they did a gas tax holiday. So for 90 days, Ohio does not have gas taxes. They were trying to lower the price of gas. And as you can see there, the price of gas was lower in Ohio after that gas tax holiday for about three or four days, it went down under $4.00 a gallon. And then, you know, like a week later after the gas tax holiday, it shot right back up. So, everyone is asking why did we do this gas tax holiday? What is happening? Why are these prices so high?

And it is the grocery prices, it is housing. It is just the affordability of everything. That's what people want to talk about.

I don't think that for the most part, most people want to talk about a negative ad. They don't want to talk about everyone being a liar. They want to talk about how they can afford life.

DEAN: How to get through life, yes. All right, Amy, thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it.

JURAVICH: Thank you so much for having me.

DEAN: It was great.

Early voting now underway here in New York City. Mayor Mamdani casting his ballot. We will take you there. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:37:07]

DEAN: Polls opened in New York today for the first day of early in- person voting. Nationwide, more than 23 million early votes have already been cast. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, among those voting casting his ballot at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Also today, New York Attorney General Letitia James saying she is making an election protection hotline available during early voting. The Trump administration recently said it could consider sending federal immigration officers to polling locations. Let's bring in CNN's Mark Morales, who joins us from one of those polling locations that are open for early voting here in New York City.

Mark, what are people saying today? MARK MORALES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTER: Well, we are outside of this public school here in Manhattan, and we had about a thousand people who were here casting their ballots. And we spoke to some of these folks, and they told us about how they all had some common themes amongst some of their concerns, which included voter security, election security, even whether or not the actual election results would be accepted amongst the people.

Now, this is something that we've seen as a common theme. And we spoke to some of these residents. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SAPERSTEIN, NYC VOTER: The issue I feel most concerned about is the how shall I put this? The interference at the federal level.

ELISSA STEIN, NYC VOTER: I think that in New York City, with the amazing poll workers that we have and a Democratic government, we are pretty safe; in other parts of the country, I absolutely think that there is going to be voter intimidation, if not tampering, then definitely things to try to dissuade people or prevent people from voting.

JUDITH RIVEN, NYC VOTER: In New York City, no, outside of New York City and New York, yes. I think everywhere in the country, people have to be very, very alert to making sure that their vote is counted, that nothing is interfering, and that we get the results that we are all looking for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:40:01]

MORALES: Now, they are all part of about 86,000 people that came out to vote here in New York City, around the city. Now, It is also important to note that all has been made about federal authorities being deployed to polling sites. But it is important to note that federal law enforcement is not allowed here. That FBI, DHS, even ICE.

Now, circumstances can always change if something causes to happen -- that causes them to be deployed. But at base level, they're not supposed to be here. Now, who is supposed to be here is the NYPD. There have been deployments all over the city. Theres an NYPD officer that was here the entire time while ballots were being counted, and we spoke about the attorney general, Letitia James, she talked about her game plan for voting irregularities, which is very similar to what other states are doing, which is basically having people that are plugged in that know what is going on, and if they see something, they tell the office, they relay that to their attorneys, who then file a lawsuit.

It is those lawsuits that end up being the major weapon they have to fight against a lot of these things -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Mark Morales here in New York City, thank you so much for that. Still ahead, Ukraine facing a critical shortage of missile interceptors as Russia intensifies its attacks, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander joins us this next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:45:45]

DEAN: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Starlink and the military version, Starshield are now back to normal after more than a week of disruptions.

The higher speeds are critical for Ukraine to be able to defend against jet propelled drones. Ukraine's Air Force saying Russia launched 176 attack drones just Thursday night, hitting homes, markets and civilian infrastructure in the capital of Kyiv and across Ukraine. According to a CNN tally of official reports, at least nine people were killed, 76 injured in that. You can see the damage there.

We are joined now by CNN senior military analyst, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Admiral James Stavridis. He is also Vice Chair of The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm.

Admiral Stavridis, thanks for being here with us tonight. Let's start first with how you would assess Ukraine's defenses right now with the Starshield restoration.

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET), CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: They are depleted, I would say, about 20 percent, Jess, and that's terrible news. There are two things that have depressed their ability to guard themselves. Number one is this back and forth with Starlink. Let's hope that is settled and that we, the West, Elon Musk, Donald Trump, all of us are providing them the absolute peak speed so they can control their defensive drones.

And then number two, their defenses are weak. You didn't mention this, but I know you're well aware of it because the number of patriot missiles, THAAD missiles, the air defense weapons have been depleted in combat over the last year, and now with the war in the Middle East, it has made that supply chain more difficult. So Ukraine, unfortunately, is quite vulnerable in this moment.

DEAN: And so to that end, knowing all of that, how does that alter Ukraine's strategy or approach right now?

STAVRIDIS: Number one, they will continue everything they can to obtain intelligence Starlink speeds, command and control. They'll continue to press, and it is delicate. They don't want to appear critical of the Trump administration or of Elon Musk, but they want to put public pressure on them. And I think that's working. That's why those Starlink speeds have been (AUDIO GAP) European -- have stepped up to --

DEAN: Admiral Stavridis, I am so sorry. We are having trouble with your signal there. So sorry to not be able to follow through with you on that. I do want to turn now to former President Barack Obama, who just started speaking there in Detroit. Let's listen in to that.

OBAMA: And, you know, one of the people who says that is Michelle Obama. She's like, old man, sit down.

But one advantage of having season and experience, when you've campaigned in as many elections as I have, I can tell you when an election comes along, that just feels a little bit different.

An election where people are so ready for something new, so hungry for something better, so sick and tired of being sick and tired that everywhere you go, it feels like change is in the air.

And Michigan, that's what I am feeling right now. That's what you get a chance to do in ten days.

After ten years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence, tomfoolery, nonsense. The likes of which this country has not seen in modern times, at least, you get to say enough is enough. We are voting for change right here in Michigan.

[18:50:05]

And by the way, while I am at it, I am not just asking you to vote for Abdul and Jocelyn, I am also asking you to vote for your next Secretary of State, Garlin Gilchrist, your next Attorney General, Eli Savit; your next congresswoman for the 10th district, Christina Hines; your chief justice, Megan Cavanagh; and justice, Noah Hood. We are going to keep the State Senate thanks to the leadership of Majority Leader Brinks, win back the State House, thanks to the work of Minority Leader Puri.

So we've got work to do. You've got that whole ballot you've got to fill out. The good news is you've got plenty of time because early voting started today.

So if you have not already voted, go to MichiganDems.com/vote and they will tell you where to go. Now, I love you back. But we've got some business to attend to now. And I appreciate that. Thank you ma'am.

I'm going to come give you a kiss after we are done. And Michelle won't mind. So you just go ahead and have a seat. You don't have to stand the whole time now, ma'am. I appreciate you.

Now, I don't have to tell you how tough things are out there. You're living it. But I do think it is worth reminding ourselves just how we got here and the promises that the current occupant of The White House was making on the campaign trail two years ago. It is always good to play back the tape because we've got a record.

At the time, there were a lot of people who were already not crazy about the guy's character. They had seen that on display, but they were frustrated about the post-COVID inflation, seeing prices go up. And they heard him promise to get costs under control. That was what he was saying: I am going to get costs under control. Those weren't the only promises he made. He also promised he would impose tariffs that would bring down the deficit.

He promised he would stop getting us involved in unnecessary wars. He promised he would pass a beautiful healthcare bill that would make everybody's lives better. He had been promising that since the first time he was president. Let's see how all these promises worked out. Let's run back the tape.

Now, first, if you thought everything cost too much before, guess what? Everything costs more now. Your mortgage, your healthcare, your utility bills, interest rates are up. And then there is gas. $4.00 a gallon, $5.00 a gallon; diesel over $6.00 and climbing.

Now I want to be fair because I believe in facts, and the fact is, as a former president, I can say this sometimes factors beyond your control end up foiling your best laid plans. You know, you can you can say you're going to do something, and then there are some economic crisis or something happens. There are -- so sometimes, a president has to deal with things he didn't expect during the campaign trail. But that's not the case here.

In this case, the administration's actions are directly responsible for rising costs. The current president chose to make a series of bad decisions. The most important of which was he decided to start an unnecessary war nobody had asked for and nobody voted for.

Now, hey, but by the way, y'all must -- those of you who have been to my rallies, you don't boo here. What do you do? You vote. They can't hear you booing. They can hear you voting.

[18:55:02]

Now, I want you to think about this Iran War. The original rationale was, well, we are going to go in there and its going were going to make them bend the knee and give up their nuclear program and their nuclear weapons. Of course, Iran didn't have nuclear weapons. We had curbed their nuclear program because I put in place a deal that everybody acknowledged had kept them from getting nukes.

I didn't have to fire a missile. I engaged in diplomacy. So seven months later and six months after they declared victory. Keep in mind, like a month in, they are all like, oh, this is the greatest war ever. Look, seven months later. How is that war going?

Our allies and bases have been attacked. American soldiers have been killed. Hundreds of Americans have been wounded. We've run down our stock of missiles dangerously low. And this is the thing, Iran now has veto power over the Strait of Hormuz where oil goes through to get to the world. So they are in a stronger strategic position now than before the war started.

That was a decision this administration made, and that is the reason that the price of oil is up and the price of diesel is up, and the price of just about everything is up. And by the way, it is not over. It is still going on. Meanwhile, you've got the Defense Secretary who -- don't boo, vote. Meanwhile, you've got the Defense Secretary who is who is like a laser focused on important matters like the jawline and testosterone levels of our troops and live streaming executions. Because that's how he thinks, you cultivate that manly warrior spirit. How much time do you think this man spends in front of the mirror every day? I mean, he just -- these are not serious people. And we are paying for the price of their lack of seriousness.

Now, oil prices aren't the only reason prices keep going up. Although they're the primary driver of it. There is also this whole tariff business, and this is especially important for Michigan. Our current President loves tariffs, loves them as his one economic policy -- tariffs. They're going to be great. The greatest tariffs ever, and he was warned at the time: When you impose tariffs consumers pay the tab.

And it is not just the goods that are imported that we buy -- that are made in other countries, in a place like Michigan and the auto industry, you've got integrated systems between Canada, the United States, and, and so each car requires a whole bunch of parts from a whole bunch of places.

So he was warned this will drive prices up. This does not lower prices. And by the way, that's exactly what happened, and the weirdest thing is, he is the toughest when it comes to tariffs and trade wars, on that well-known evil empire, Canada. Like that historical adversary of ours, Canada.

Canada, it is your neighbor. It is a few minutes' drive over the bridge. These are the people who gave us Martin Short and maple syrup. They are the nicest people. Like they're so nice. And somehow we've gotten them so mad because they're just constantly being abused and talked about and talking about annexing their country, making it a 51st state.

And so rather than these tariffs bringing down the deficits, like he said he would, they are driving up your prices. And now, we are running a debt to the tune of $40 trillion.

[19:00:00]