Obama RIPS Trump on 'enriching himself', Iran War and vanity project screw up ｜ Full Speech

Hello, Atlanta! Hello, 4-0-4! Oh, it is good to be back in Georgia. It is great to be with you. It's great to be with my friend and your next governor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, and my friend, outstanding United States Senator, John Ossoff. We're going to send him back. Man, I was standing backstage. I was getting fired up. We've got some outstanding candidates. And I caught my buddy Janelle Monae also. That also got me fired up. The band, I saw you, I saw you. I was trying to do some of those moves backstage, the dances. It didn't look good when I was doing it. Now, I love you too. Let's get down to business here. I have been doing this a long time. Some people say too long. One of those people is Michelle Obama. But when you campaign in as many elections as I have, you can tell when an election comes along that just feels a little 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 Georgia, that's what I'm feeling right now. That's what you get a chance to do in six days. After two years of chaos. And cruelty, and corruption, and incompetence, the likes of which this country has not seen in modern times. You get to say enough is enough. We're voting for change here in Georgia. And I'm not just asking you to vote for John and Keisha. I'm also asking you to vote for your next lieutenant governor, Josh McLaurin. Your next secretary of state. Penny Brown Reynolds, your next Attorney General, Tanya Miller, your Congresswoman, Nakima Williams, and Democrats all the way up and down the ballot. And you have until this Friday, October 30th, to vote early in person. So do not procrastinate. Don't equivocate. Go to IWillVote.com to find your early voting location, get your family, get your friends, get your neighbors to vote early. Because I don't have to tell you how tough things are out there. You're living it. I do think it's worth reminding ourselves how we got here. And the promises the current occupant of the White House was making on the campaign trail just two years ago. It's always good to play back the tape when you've got a record. That way you kind of know the facts. And I believe in facts. I'm a fact guy. At the time. There were a lot of people who weren't crazy about the guy's character. It had been on display, but they were frustrated about post-COVID inflation, seeing prices go up, and they heard him promise to get costs under control. Of course, those were not the only promises he made. He also promised he'd impose tariffs that would bring down the deficit, and he promised he'd stop getting us involved in unnecessary wars. He promised he'd pass a beautiful health care bill that would make everybody's lives better. Of course, he'd been promising that for about eight years, but he promised it again. And so now let's look at the tape. Let's see how all those promises worked out. First of all, if you thought everything cost too much before, guess what? Everything is more expensive now. Your mortgage, your health care, your utility bills. And then there's gas. Top four bucks a gallon last month. Diesel's still over five. Now, I want to be fair. Remember, I'm a fact guy. So I like to be fair. As a former president, I can say that sometimes there are factors beyond the president's control that end up foiling the best laid plans. You might have a good plan. Some unforeseen event happens. But that's not the case here. In this case... The administration's own actions are directly responsible for rising costs. As John described, the current president chose to make a series of bad decisions, the most important of which was to start an unnecessary war that nobody asked for and nobody voted for. This happens to be something I know a little bit about. Think about this Iran war. The original rationale was we were going to go in there to get them to give up their nuclear weapons and their nuclear program. Except Iran didn't have nuclear weapons. We had curbed their nuclear program. I had put in place a deal that everybody acknowledged kept them from getting nukes. I didn't have to fire any missiles. I engaged in diplomacy. Months later, roughly seven months after they declared victory, repeatedly, how is this war going? Our allies and bases have been attacked. Americans have been killed. Hundreds of Americans have been wounded. We have run down our stock of missiles, making us more vulnerable. And... Iran now has veto power over the Strait of Hormuz, where much of the world's oil goes through to get to consumers. So follow me now. This is the reason why the price of oil is up. This is the reason why the price of diesel is up. The price of just about everything is up. And by the way, contrary to the promises and statements and declarations that were made. Seven months ago, this war is not over. It's still going on, which means you are not getting any relief anytime soon. Meanwhile, you've got the defense secretary. No, no, no, no, no. Hold on. Some of y'all been to my rallies before. You don't boo. What do you do? You go vote. They can't hear your boos, but they can hear your vote. So while all this is happening. The defense secretary is laser focused on very 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. These are not serious people and we're all paying the price for their lack of seriousness. And oil prices are not the only reason prices keep going up. Oh, there's also this whole. Tariff business. Our president loves tariffs. Loves them. But remember, he was warned. Run back the tape. Economists said, when you impose tariffs, consumers pay the tab. And that's exactly what happened. And the big trade war he's waging now is that well-known evil empire, that historical adversary of the United States, Canada, the people who gave us maple syrup and And Martin Short. The nicest people around, our friendly neighbors to the north, now they're booing our hockey games. And rather than bring tariffs, rather than having the tariffs bring down deficits, like he said he would, we're now running a debt to the tune of $40 trillion, $40 trillion. And while we're alienating key allies like Canada, the White House is bending the knee to Vladimir Putin of Russia. And selling out Ukrainians who are fighting for their freedom and democracy. Do not boo. Boo. So, so you've got, they made a choice to fight a war they didn't need to fight. They made a choice to impose tariffs. That is why prices are going up. That's why gas is so high. And you would think that at least with all this going on, our current president would have passed some legislation to bring down prices. This would be an urgent call he would make to Congress, but the only bill that he and his Republican allies in Congress have passed of any significance was a trillion dollar tax break that mostly benefits the richest Americans. Now, I've heard the argument, well, the president's done some things folks wanted, like tightening up the border. And you know what? I believe we do need to make sure our border is orderly and secure, and in fact, when I was president, I got criticized by some Democratic allies for tightening up enforcement at the border, but I don't recall anybody asking this administration to send masked agents running through our streets. I don't recall anybody talking about... Law-abiding citizens getting arrested and detained and shot and killed and children being taken away from their parents. We did not ask for that. That's not how we get our border under control. But let's be honest. Does anybody really think that this... That's the right answer, but let me ask my rhetorical question here. Does anybody really think that this guy is spending all that much time on the issues that matter to you, because I don't know if you've noticed, he's very focused on home renovations, should have a show on HGTV that the guy is building a ballroom that is bigger than the White House. He's paved over the Rose Garden, put a helicopter pad on the South Lawn, and there is gold everywhere. So much gold. Hey, he is spending time. This is true. This is a fact. I'm not making this up. He, the president of the United States, is spending time super gluing gold medallions to the mantle in the Oval Office. I am not making this up. He is literally doing arts and crafts while we are fighting a war and trying to deal with out-of-control prices. Now, now, now, look, I heard. Ha, ha, ha. I heard the president was not happy when I joked over the weekend that he's got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a cheesecake factory. And listen, first of all, let me get this on the record. I am the father of two daughters. Do you think I could have survived their childhood without going to the cheesecake factory? I lived at Chuck E. Cheese and California Pizza Kitchen. And the Cheesecake Factory. That was my jam for about a decade. Of course, the real problem is prices have gotten so high, a lot of folks can barely afford to go out to eat. So, you would think that this administration would be spending time worrying about that? That was the interesting thing about how the administration responded to the speech I gave the other day. They did not dispute what I said about them being directly responsible for rising prices. They did not argue with that. They did not deny tariffs were contributing to higher costs for families. They didn't say anything about that. I accused this administration based on the facts that they were engaging in unprecedented levels of corruption. They didn't say anything about that. The president wasn't even mad about the Saddam Hussein comparison. That part didn't bother him, but he was very upset. About the Cheesecake Factory comments. He took great umbrage. He said, I didn't understand the work of the artisans in the White House. And they mobilized. This was, I mean, it's all crazy, but this was the really crazy part. They mobilized a whole of government response to that joke. Not to inflation, but to that joke. The White House even called the Secretary of the Treasury. This is the man who is in charge of the economy, the person who's supposed to be figuring out how to make your life more affordable, the guy who's supposed to be figuring out how to lower inflation and reduce interest rates. They told him he should hold a press conference in front of the Cheesecake Factory. No, y'all didn't see this. This really happened. And... And the Treasury Secretary, he happens to be a former hedge fund manager worth half a billion dollars. And he was out there in front of the Cheesecake Factory explaining how he ordered the delicious French dip cheeseburger instead of the egg rolls. Look, this is not something I ever thought of. I inherited this major financial crisis. I never called my Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, said, man, you got to go to Arby's, order roast beef. No cheese, though. That may look elitist to everybody out there, including the press. I want you to understand this. This is what I mean when I say these are not serious people. They don't have solutions to actual problems. So they'd rather have the media and you talking about the Cheesecake Factory. That's the game they've been playing for the last two years. Just keep throwing distractions out there, attacks, fabrications. Phony outrage and hope that you won't notice that your bills are higher and your life is tougher. Except that okie doke will not work this time, Atlanta, because you know your prices are still up because you pay your utility bills. You've seen what those are like. You know, it's still hard to pay rent and pay for child care and pay for health insurance. And, you know, we need serious people who are listening to your concerns, who see you and care about you and have real plans to make your life better. People like John Ossoff, people like Keisha Lance Bottoms. Let me make this. Let me also add the because I talk In addition to being a fat guy, I try to be fair. The president is not only interested in home decorations. He is very much focused on enriching himself and his family and his cronies. We have never seen a president so intent on selling favors like this. We have lost count of all the deals he and his family have done. Mean coins, taxpayer-funded contracts for his kids' companies. The guy has made billions of dollars while in office. I understand this has not been done in modern times. And not a single Republican in Congress, Has done anything to hold him to account. Has not uttered a peep. Has not said a word to say that is not right. That is not why we are in office. You cannot trade the office of the presidency and policy that affects Americans to make yourself money. That's not what we do. That's what dictators in other countries do. But that's not what we do. When I was president, we would scold. Other countries, when they operated like that, and explain that not only is that not good for your people, it's not even good for business if you have levels of corruption and pay to play like that. That's not how we're supposed to do things. And nobody, not a single Republican has said something about it. Certainly not Mike Collins. Not any of the Republicans on the ballot here in Georgia have said, you know what, that's not right. Most of them supported him every step of the way. So you remember that drain, the swamp? The only thing they drained is the reflecting pool in the National Mall. And that was because of some no-bid contract that got all screwed up. You know, I am old enough to remember when a president wearing a tan suit was a major national controversy. They were very upset. And I know I look good in that suit. I know that's right. I know. It was tight. I don't know. I don't know. I'm, you know. But I did. Now. Here's the difficult reality. We got two more years in this administration, That's how our system of government works. We're stuck with that. But you know what we're not stuck with? A spineless Congress and a bunch of Republican governors who are willing to enable all of the corruption and incompetence and indifference to working people. We're not stuck with enabling. More policies that take money out of your pocket and cut your health care and drive up inflation. We're not stuck with that. This election is our last best chance at least reining him in, reining in some of the foolishness of this administration. It's the circuit breaker in the system and we need to flip it. We need to start bringing some accountability to this administration, and just as important, we need to start showing the American people who are hungry for real solutions what real leadership looks like, what concrete plans look like to actually lower costs and make health care more affordable and housing more affordable and get utility bills under control. We can't just be against it. This administration's behavior, we can't just say what we're against. We've got to start showing them what a future on the other side of this administration can look like. And it starts with you. It starts with electing Keisha Lance Bottoms governor. It starts with sending John Ossoff back to the United States Senate. Almost, and I do say almost, almost feel bad for the Republican opponents. Almost. And here's why. Because after spending the last couple of years signing, singing this president's praises, doing anything he asks, saying how he might be the best president ever. Now, now, now they're realizing that everybody's pretty upset about his broken promises. So so what did they do? Well, they're doing what they always do. We're just running all kinds of scary ads to make you think Democrats are radical and communists and that the woke police are going to ban hamburgers and make everybody eat tofu. And Republicans even have a tagline, I guess, from for this midterms. I don't know if you've heard it. They're saying Democrats, they're for crazy. We're for common sense. Now, let's think about this. Let's talk about how they define crazy and common sense. Let's have a discussion about that, because I don't think it's a common sense to pass a trillion dollar tax cut for millionaires and billionaires paid for with higher health care costs and kicking people out of Medicaid. I don't think it's common sense to launch a war in Iran that everybody told them was going to drive up inflation. That's not the kind of common sense Georgia needs. And if you want to talk about crazy, let's let's take a look at what Mike Collins has been up to. Not only did this guy. Vote with Donald Trump 100% of the time on Iran, on tariffs, on everything else. He also happens to be under federal investigation by the House Ethics Committee. And that's for reasons that are entirely separate from what has been called his summer of scandal after it came to light how cozy he was with white nationalists. That's crazy. And there's only one common sense choice in this race. And that is John Ossoff. And it's not just because he's so put together. It's not because he looks like a Kennedy all handsome in the videos. It's because he learned from his mentor and my mentor. One of the greats, John Lewis, what it means to stir up some good trouble. That's what he's been doing on your behalf. He exposed the abuse of Georgia's foster kids, passed the law forcing tech companies to crack down on child predators, took on the drug companies, capped the price of insulin for seniors. And when you send him back to the Senate, he's going to fight to ban health insurance companies from denying coverage that patients need. And he's going to repeal the tariffs that have sent prices of groceries soaring. He knows we he knows we never should have started this unnecessary war in Iraq and he will fight to end it. And he is going to fight. For stronger voting rights protections to make sure that every single citizen has a vote and every vote is counted here in Georgia and across the United States of America. And John will fight for you and Keisha Lance Bottoms will fight for you because Keisha is a committed public servant. She's in it for the right reasons. A smart leader with plans to build a better Georgia. I have seen. How much she cares about people. How deeply she understands the pain people are feeling now. I know she will fight for you every day as governor. Because that's what she did when she was mayor. Gave police officers and firefighters a historic pay raise. Balanced the budget every single year of her term without raising taxes. And as governor, she'll fight to make life more affordable for Georgians. She'll finally expand Medicaid. Protect health care providers here. Ensure that nearly 300,000 uninsured Georgians can get the care they need and as a mom of four, Keisha knows the importance of early education and she'll fight to guarantee pre-K to four-year-olds here in Georgia. She'll cut the gas tax, let Georgia leaders waive local taxes on groceries and daily necessities like diapers and baby formula. Crackdown on Wall Street firms that are buying up property and jacking up the cost of homes and rents. That's what Keisha will do. Now, there's her billionaire Republican opponent, Rick Jackson. Do not vote. A guy who apparently calls gas stations gas stores. I don't know where he got that. You can always tell the politician's really in touch with working folk when he calls a gas station a gas store. But get this, this guy says he wants to be this president who's currently in the White House. He says he wants to be that guy's favorite governor. He says he cannot think of a single White House policy that he disagrees with. Not one. Really? Not one. Can't think of anything that he thinks this president should do differently. Not the ones that are making everything more expensive for people here in Georgia. He doesn't want to do something different than that? Now, not any of the policies that have made it harder for you to get by. That's crazy. Georgia doesn't need that kind of crazy vote for Keisha. And she's going to make sure every single day you are the top priority, not somebody in Washington. The people of Georgia right here. That's what she's focused on. All right. Now, Keisha. All right. Listen, these are these are unsettling times. These are these are difficult times. The economy is changing fast. AI is here and we're going to have to have regulations in place that make sure its benefits flow to everyone, not just a few billionaires. We need to revamp our education system for the new era that AI is ushering in. We need to build millions of homes across this country. So a new generation. Young families that are coming up can afford to buy homes just like their grandparents could and their parents could. We need to rein in the cost of child care so those same young families can afford it. We've got to make sure that nobody has to worry about high health care premiums. We have a lot of work to do. And I understand people's frustrations. I get the anger. I get the cynicism because the system's not working the way it's supposed to. Partly because of gerrymandering, partly because of laws like Citizens United that allow rich and powerful people to try and buy and sell elections like never before, hundreds of millions of dollars just pouring into elections, partly because we've got a Republican Party now that it used to stand for smaller government and now seems to stand for corrupt government or inept government. Or no government whatsoever. And if we're honest, partly because too often, even among well-intentioned folks, including some Democrats, there are times where we get so caught up in process and bureaucracy, we don't deliver fast enough. And people get frustrated because they look around and say, well, nothing's changed. I'm still struggling. That's why. We need serious people in Washington and state capitals. These are serious times. And we seem to constantly just tolerate unseriousness. The people who are currently in charge, they're not doing their homework. They're not doing their work. They're not presenting realistic plans. These are people who are more interested in performance and flexing and texting and putting people down rather than lifting them up. They enjoy insulting and dividing instead of bringing people together to solve problems. And look, I know we're in Atlanta, and I want you all to know, Michelle has love for the Real Housewives. But we got to keep reality TV on Bravo. Leave it to the professionals. We don't need it in the White House. We don't need it in the governor's mansion. We need people like John and Keisha in there. And when you find someone like them who genuinely care about people, when you find public servants with a strong track record and who are offering real detailed solutions, people who believe public service means serving the public, then we've got to realize how precious that is. And we've got to deliver for them so they can deliver for us. We've got to make sure we elect them governor and re-elect them senator of this great state of Georgia. Because they understand this election is not about them. It's about you. It's about we. It's about us. And there is one other thing they understand. They understand that what ails us right now, what seems to be throwing our country off kilter so much, what's adding to the anxiety. And the alienation and the mistrust. It's not just about economics. It's not just about prices. It's about values. There is a moral component to the choices we face right now. We are not going to fix the system that's broken. We're not going to unrig our economy so long as we've got a culture where anything goes. Where people in the highest offices of the land think it's okay to lie and cheat. If we continue to have a culture where money is deemed the only measure of our worth, and that's part of what's going on right now. It just feels like collectively we've lost touch with those things that really matter in life. Caring for our families, helping our neighbors, having integrity, treating others with respect, nurturing our children, witnessing their joy. We need to remember the words. Of a 25-year-old preacher who gave a sermon in 1954, where he said, if we are to go forward today, we've got to go back and rediscover some mighty precious values that we've left behind. And that preacher was Martin Luther King Jr., and he said, we haven't learned how to be just and honest and kind and true and loving, and that is the basis of our problem. And Dr. King's words are as true today as they were when he spoke them before I was born. Yes, we need to lower costs and put money in people's pockets. Yes, we need to end this war and the corruption in Washington. But we also need to rediscover our North Star. We also need to rediscover what's best in us. Because if we don't return to some of those mighty precious values Dr. King was talking about, we will continue to fester in anger and division. And I don't know about you, but I am tired of being angry. And I'm tired of being divided. I want friendship and neighborliness and joy and generosity. I want everybody rolling up their sleeves in the common enterprise of rebuilding America. I want everybody handing our country and our world off to our kids a little better than they are right now. That's what I want. That's what you want. So we didn't get into this moment overnight. We're not going to get out of it overnight. But Georgia, I also know this, this election can be a start because if we're willing to turn out in big numbers across this state, across this country, if we're willing to vote for change up and down the ballot, then this election might just mark the moment when we begin to leave our worst impulses behind and start aligning our politics with our highest ideals. So I'm asking you right now, are you fired up? Are you ready to go? Let's go make Keisha Lance Bottom the next governor of Georgia. Let's go re-elect your outstanding senator, John Alsa. Let's go get on the path to making this country everything that it can be. Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America. Hey, it's Rachel. I am so glad to see you at the end of that clip because this is where I get to tell you about a new way to watch all our clips and all of our shows and everything on MSNBC on your phone or your tablet or your laptop. You can watch things live or recorded. Plus, you can ask me and all the other hosts and reporters questions in our weekly live chats. You can go to msnbc.now slash membership or just click below. Thanks.