Barack Obama fires up Wisconsin liberal base in Madison on first day of early voting

MADISON – Former President Barack Obama reassumed his role as Wisconsin Democrats' campaign closer on Tuesday, warning that former President Donald Trump wants “unchecked power” as he implored voters in this deep blue city to turn out to vote.

“We do not need a president who makes problems worse just to make his politics better,” Obama said at Alliant Energy Center on the first day of in-person early voting in the state. “We need a president who actually cares about solving problems and making your life better, and that’s what Kamala Harris will do.”

In a 41-minute speech, Obama railed against Trump, spoke of lessons from his presidency and pitched Vice President Kamala Harris as the best path forward. He was joined by Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, who panned Trump for not having the “stamina” to be president and said Trump is “far more dangerous” than he was in 2016.

“The good news is, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, they don’t have concepts of a plan. They have an actual plan to make your life better,” Obama said in a dig at Trump's debate remark on replacing the Affordable Care Act. “That’s what they stand for.”

The pair delivered their remarks to thousands of supporters on the first day of in-person absentee voting in Wisconsin and as Democrats pushed to drive turnout in their strongholds of Madison and Milwaukee. The stop was part of Democrats’ closing pitch in the key battleground state that has also included a push to appeal to undecided voters and Republicans skeptical of Trump.

On Tuesday, Obama accused Trump of putting his interests before those of voters and knocked Trump for complaining and “hawking merchandise” — noting his Trump-branded Bibles were printed in China. But he also acknowledged concerns over high prices since the pandemic despite a steadily improving economy.

“I understand why folks are looking to shake things up. I get that," Obama said. "What I cannot understand is why anybody would think that Donald Trump would shake things up in a way that’s good for you… There is absolutely no evidence that this man thinks about anybody but himself.”

When the crowd booed Trump on multiple occasions throughout the speech, Obama repeated a line he’s used before in the state: “Don’t boo, vote. They can't hear you boo. They can hear your vote.”

Walz sought to contrast Harris and Trump and accused him of being afraid to debate Harris again, saying: “When you get your ass whipped that hard, you don't come back for seconds.”

Walz slammed the former president for a staged weekend visit to a Pennsylvania McDonald’s where Trump wore an apron and handed food to supporters.

“There’s something not just nuts, but cruel about a billionaire using people’s livelihood as a political prop,” Walz said of the McDonald’s visit. “That five minutes he stood next to the deep fryer, that’s the hardest that guy’s ever worked in his life.”

He joked that Elon Musk, the tech billionaire spending millions of dollars to turn out voters for Trump, was the former president’s actual running mate.

The Madison rally was among recent campaign stops in swing states including Pennsylvania, Nevada and Michigan for Obama, one of Democrats’ most popular surrogates. Polling has shown a tightening race between Harris and Trump across the battlegrounds, and Democrats are working to shore up support in the so-called “Blue Wall” states.

Obama encouraged voters to get to the polls as soon as possible, even if it meant leaving the event early.

“If enough voices are heard, we’ll leave no doubt about the outcome of the election. We will leave no doubt about who we are,” he said. “We'll send a message about what America stands for, and together, we will keep building a country that is more fair and more just and more equal and more free.”

He focused on the division Trump's rhetoric creates and how it’s changed the country.

“One of the disturbing things about this election, about Trump's rise in politics, is how we seem to have set aside the values that we were taught,” he said.

Trump’s behavior on the campaign trail has gotten increasingly odd, Obama said, the type of behavior people might be worried about if their own grandfather exhibited it.

“This is coming from somebody who wants unchecked power… we do not need to see what an older, loonier Donald Trump looks like with no guardrails. America is ready to turn the page,” he said.

Democrats have consistently expanded their share of the vote and overall turnout in Dane County, Wisconsin’s fastest-growing county. Republicans this cycle have sought to cut into that trend; Trump visited Dane and Milwaukee counties at the beginning of the month.

More: Gilbert: Donald Trump campaigning in liberal Dane County? Here's why

While Obama's speech was aimed at turning out Democratic voters, the Harris campaign has also attempted to appeal to undecided voters and Republicans who may be disenchanted with Trump in the final weeks of the campaign.

Harris visited Brookfield on Monday for a conversation with former Republican U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, a top Trump critic, moderated by the conservative talk show host Charlie Sykes, a longtime Wisconsin Republican who also broke with Trump.

Both the Harris and Trump campaigns have barnstormed the state since mid-summer. On Sunday, Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, also visited Waukesha County, a traditionally deep red suburban area where Democrats have made inroads in recent years.

Wisconsin Republicans this week sought to downplay Obama’s visit and continue their efforts to tie Harris to President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the race this summer over questions from within his party about his viability.

“The reason that Barack Obama is in campaigning for Kamala Harris is because Joe Biden can't," Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming told reporters on Monday. “She cannot possibly have herself associated with the last four years of the Biden administration, so she can't have Joe Biden come and campaign for her.”

Schimming suggested Harris will lose the election if her record is “attached” to Biden’s and listed immigration, the economy and violent crime as the “big issues” on which Democrats are “upside down with all voters.”

He also encouraged Republicans to vote early both in-person and by mail and suggested voters should use ballot drop boxes — something Trump and other Republicans in Wisconsin have derided without evidence as rife with fraud.

"From my perspective, as the party chairman, for every person that votes early, we save resources and can spend it on people who may be undecided," Schimming said.

The Trump campaign, meanwhile, said in a statement that Obama “isn’t going to convince Wisconsinites to vote for another four years of open borders, rising prices, and disaster at home and abroad.”

Before Walz and Obama took the stage, Wisconsin’s top Democrats encouraged the crowd to vote early and sought to contrast Democrats’ agenda with that of Republicans.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said he traveled more than 2,000 miles with fellow Democratic governors over the past week to “make sure everyone across the Blue Wall states understands how important this election is.”

“All eyes are on us in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania to make sure Kamala Harris and Tim Walz win in November,” Evers said.

Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, in a tightening reelection race of her own, praised Walz as “a great addition to the Democratic ticket,” noting his military and public service. Of her own race, she admonished the crowd that the outcome could help determine the balance of the Senate and painted her opponent, Eric Hovde, as an outsider.

“It’s clear that he’s spent more time on his private California beach than on a factory floor or a family farm here in the state of Wisconsin,” Baldwin said.

Bradley Whitford, an actor from the series "The West Wing" who was born in Madison, railed against Trump for everything from his felony convictions to his celebration of overturning the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade.

“It turns out that the fakiest thing about West Wing wasn’t the veneers on my teeth. It was the fact that we had rational Republicans,” Whitford said. “Can you imagine if I walked into the writers’ room and pitched a character like Donald Trump?”

Rally attendees on Tuesday expressed excitement to see Obama speak. Some listed reproductive rights as a main motivation. Others, like Michele Funnemark of Sun Prairie, said they planned to vote early.

Still, multiple attendees told the Journal Sentinel they’ve felt nervous as the race has tightened in recent days and weeks. One woman described the race as “almost too close for comfort.”

Margaret Windhorst of Madison described the race as “neck and neck” and said recent polling has been worrying.

“I was so positive, and now I’m jittery about it,” Windhorst said.

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler described Democrats’ voter turnout efforts in the final weeks of the campaign as “all gas no brakes.”

“Do everything you can. Call everyone you know,” Wikler told the Journal Sentinel. “Hunt down your ex’s cell phone number and text them about voting.”

“This is as close as an election (sic) as the polling as ever predicted.”

(This story was updated to add a photo or video.)

Madeline Heim of the Journal Sentinel contributed from Madison.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Barack Obama fires up liberal base in Madison for Kamala Harris