US Election: Barack Obama calls Trump a ‘bumbling’ billionaire hitting campaign trail for Harris in Pennsylvania

US Election: Former United States President, Barack Obama held on Thursday night a rally in Pennsylvania supporting Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in her Presidential campaign in US election against Republican Donald Trump.

Obama invoked his own campaign rallying cry, “Yes, We Can,” to “Yes, She Can,” which beamed on a screen over the crowd as he spoke while voting was underway in the critical battleground state, Pennsylvania.

The last few years, starting with the pandemic, have been hard for Americans, with high prices and other impacts putting a squeeze on working families, the former President said.

“I get why people are looking to shake things up. I mean, I am the hopey-changey guy. So I understand people feeling frustrated and we can do better," Obama was quoted as saying by US news agency AP.

In his US election speech, Obama painted Trump as out-of-touch and not the choice to lead the country to change and called the Republican nominee a “bumbling” billionaire who has "not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down the golden escalator” in 2015 to launch his first campaign.

Obama's US election speech at the University of Pittsburgh was his first campaign rally for Kamala Harris as he sets off on a swing-state tour on her behalf. Earlier, Obama appeared at a Harris fundraiser for US election in California in September and spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August.

First Appearance in 2024 campaign

Obama has been one of the Democratic Party’s most reliable star campaigners to galvanise voters. As the nation’s first Black president, Obama's appearance drumming up support for Harris underscores the history-making nature of her own political career, the AP report said. 

Harris, the first woman, black person or person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president, would be the first woman to serve as president, if elected next month during US election.

Obama and Harris have been friends for two decades since he ran for Senate in Illinois. She campaigned for him when he sought the presidency in 2008. The 44rth President of the United States was among the key Democrats who were part of a behind-the-scenes effort to encourage President Joe Biden, Obama's former vice president, to drop out of the US election race.

Pennsylvania key for Harris

Pennsylvania is a state Obama won in his 2008 and 2012 presidential races, but Trump won in 2016. Biden narrowly carried it in 2020 and the state is shaping up to be one of the most closely contested in this year’s race.

Obama’s appearance was also aimed to bolster the reelection campaign of Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, who is being challenged by Trump-endorsed Republican David McCormick.

Earlier, Obama visited a campaign office in Pittsburgh, where he brought pastries for volunteers and thanked them for their work, according to his office.

(With AP inputs)