(The Hill) – Former President Trump on Tuesday lashed out at former President Obama, who has aggressively hit the campaign trail in support of Vice President Harris in battleground states.
“I think he’s a real jerk because I’ve watched him campaign over the last couple of days,” Trump told supporters at a rally in North Carolina. “Over the last couple of days I’ve watched him campaign. What a divider he is. He divides this country. He couldn’t care less, him and his little group of people.”
Trump shrugged off Obama’s presence on the trail, noting he campaigned in support of then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton during the 2016 race, which Trump won.
“The reason they’re bringing him out — because he doesn’t even want to do it. I think he’s exhausted. I watched him talk and I think the guy’s exhausted. … He’s looking a little bit older isn’t he. You know? Nothing wrong with that. But he’s exhausted.”
Obama has campaigned in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Arizona in support of Harris and other Democrats on the ticket in recent weeks. He appeared Tuesday in Wisconsin and Michigan, and he is set to appear alongside the vice president at a rally in Georgia on Thursday.
The former president remains especially popular among Democrats, and he has used his appearances to try and appeal directly to Black men and to make the case that Trump is unfit to lead.
“He said January 6th was a day of love. … You would be worried if grandpa was acting like this. You’d call up your brother. You’d call up your cousins. You’d say, ‘Have you noticed?'” Obama said of Trump on Tuesday in Madison, Wis. “But this is coming from somebody who wants unchecked power.”
Trump and the Obamas have been political rivals for years, but there has also been personal animosity because of Trump pushing the false conspiracy theory that former President Obama was not born in the United States.
The Obamas served as the keynote speakers during the second night of the Democratic National Convention in August, electrifying the crowd and delivering a stinging rebuke of Trump in the process.