WASHINGTON: Ending nine months of self-imposed political silence, former United States President Barack Obama came out all guns blazing in support of Democratic candidate for Virginia Governor Ralph S. Northam in Richmond.
Targetting Republican candidate Ed Gillespie, Obama launched a stinging attack on the latter's immigration-focused campaign, which he called “damaging and corrosive to our democracy.”
“What he’s (Gillespie) really trying to deliver is fear. What he really believes is that if you scare enough voters, it might score just enough votes to win an election,” the New York Times quoted Obama, as saying.
He maintained that politics in America is getting increasingly cynical.
Around 7,500 people attended the event held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.
It was Obama's second campaign appearance of the day, as earlier on Thursday, he pitched support for Democratic nominee for New Jersey governor Philip D. Murphy in Newark.
Murphy is contesting the election against Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.
Obama warned Democratic supporters not to get complacent, as then, they would have no right to complain about their elected officials if they “slept through” election day.
He urged young Virginians to get off social media and come out and vote for their candidate
Obama offered his harshest assessment of the Trump era when he indirectly said, “Instead of our politics reflecting our values, we’ve got politics infecting our communities.”
“We shouldn’t use the most painful parts of our history just to score political points,” the former U.S. president said.