The Guardian·United Kingdom·Saturday, October 24, 2026 at 11:46 PM UTC

‘Change is in the air’: Obama praises El-Sayed and attacks Trump at Michigan rally – US politics live

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Cecilia Nowell, Shrai Popat, Jason Wilson, Joseph Gedeon

Speaking about the nearly 20 years he’s been in national politics, Barack Obama joked that he’s been campaigning for too long – but said because of the experience “I can tell you when an election comes along that feels just 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’m feeling right now,” Obama said.

Key events

This concludes our live coverage of the 2026 midterms for the day. Here are the latest developments:

Barack Obama campaigned for Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed in Detroit today. “Change is in the air,” the former president said of the 2026 midterms, in a speech that laid aim at the Trump administration and called on voters to elect “serious” leaders who share their values.
Speaking ahead of the former president, El-Sayed said that growing up with “an eleven letter first name” he never thought he could run for office, until he saw a man named “Barack Hussein Obama” become president.
Michigan gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson denounced Donald Trump’s false claim that he won the 2020 election, and described her efforts as secretary of state that year in her address to voters in Detroit.
In New Hampshire, Kamala Harris has joined Democratic congressman Chris Pappas, who is running to fill the state’s vacant Senate seat, for a podcast taping. At an earlier rally in Manchester, Pappas criticized his opponent’s opposition to abortion.
Donald Trump voted in West Palm Beach, Florida today, telling reporters at the polls that he voted straight Republican on his ballot. Trump has historically mailed-in his ballot rather than voting in-person. Trump will campaign in Georgia today.

Reporting from Manchester, New Hampshire

With 10 days until the midterms election, New Hampshire has caused some eleventh-hour consternation for Democrats when it comes to the competitive Senate race.

Chris Pappas, the four-term Democratic congressman who is vying for the open seat, took to the stage in Manchester ahead of an intimate live podcast taping with Kamala Harris, the former vice-president, and Mini Timmaraju, the executive director of Reproductive Freedom for All – one of the country’s oldest abortion rights groups.

“Shouldn’t we have a senator that’s just going to turn the page on the chaos, the corruption, and the cruelty of what we’ve seen over the last couple of years?” Pappas told the crowd, while targeting his Republican challenger, John Sununu, a former US senator.

“He [Sununu] might still be our senator if he was pro-choice. But when he was in office, he voted for a national abortion ban. He voted not to require hospitals from providing emergency contraception to women who have been raped, and he stands with the Trump administration on their efforts to unwind family planning and to attack the right to choose,” Pappas said.

Sununu’s family name is also a known entity in the state – his brother and father are both former governors. In a state where voters handed Harris a win in 2024 while electing a Republican governor on the same ballot, some Democratic operatives are concerned this creates an opening for Sununu – who has characterized himself as an independent voice, focused on protecting New Hampshire from federal oversight.

The GOP nominee has also distanced himself from Donald Trump, despite winning the president’s endorsement.

If elected, Pappas would make history as the first openly gay man to serve in the US Senate.

A reminder that Democrats need to hold on to the 47 seats that they currently hold, which includes New Hampshire, as well as pickup four more.

Barack Obama concluded his remarks at Abdul El-Sayed’s rally in Detroit, saying: “Michigan, you and I have proved before that it’s hard to stop change when it’s time has come. So I’m asking you to do it again in 10 days.”

Supporters for Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed applaud during a speech by former President Barack Obama, during a campaign rally at Cass Technical High School on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Detroit. Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP

“These are unsettling times,” Barack Obama said in his address at Abdul El-Sayed’s rally in Detroit, urging voters to elect “serious” candidates who share their values.

The former president noted that the economy is changing fast, artificial intelligence is set to change the world and the United States is facing a major housing shortage. He added that the Republican party no longer seemed to be the party of small government, and that Democrats are struggling to deliver quickly enough for people.

“We need serious people in Washington and state capitals,” Obama said. “These are serious times. This is not the time for reality TV.”

He added that “we need to make sure we elect” candidates like Abdul El-Sayed and Jocelyn Benson. “They understand that what ails us right now, what’s throwing this country off kilter so much” is “about values.”

Barack Obama encouraged voters to elect Democratic governors and members of Congress in November’s midterms to check the Trump administration.

“This election is our last, best chance to at least reign in some of the foolishness of this administration,” Obama said.

Former President Barack Obama, speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Cass Technical High School Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Detroit. Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP

Barack Obama criticized Donald Trump for profiting off the presidency during his address in Detroit.

“We have never seen a president straight-up excel at grifting on your dime like this,” Obama said. “We have lost count of all the deals he and his family have done.”

“He should be on HGTV,” Obama said of Donald Trump’s many renovations in Washington, including the White House ballroom and Rose Garden. “He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”

“Don’t boo, vote,” Barack Obama repeated throughout his speech in Michigan, responding when rally goers booed at Obama’s description of current policies being pursued by the Trump administration.

Barack Obama criticized Donald Trump from levying tariffs and starting trade wars with “that well known evil empire, Canada.”

“These are the people who gave us Martin Short and Maple syrup. They are the nicest people," Obama said.

Barack Obama called Pete Hegseth and other Trump administration officials “not serious people.”

Obama said the secretary of defense was more concerned about “the jawline and testosterone levels of our troops” and “livestreaming executions” than ending the war in Iran.

“How much time do you think this man spends in front of the mirror every day?” Obama joked.

Barack Obama criticized “the current occupant of the White House”' and his 2024 campaign promises “to keep costs down” during his appearance in Detroit.

“I don’t have to tell you how tough things are out there, you’re living it,” Obama said, echoing the Democratic Party’s affordability message that has driven this midterms cycle.

Obama acknowledged that, as a past president, he realized some factors were beyond a president’s control, but said “the administration’s actions are directly responsible for rising costs.”

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