Trump and Obama make final midterm pitches as costs and Iran war dominate

Campaigning in the US midterms entered its final stretch on Saturday, with millions of early ballots already cast. Donald Trump is not on the November ballot, but his record is under scrutiny. He voted in person in Florida with Melania Trump, after usually voting by post. He has recently criticised the postal system. He then headed to Georgia for a rally.

Trump's Georgia rally

At the rally, Trump announced a new Audi vehicle plant in the state. He said construction would begin next month and was joined by the car company's chief executive. He claimed the project would be the single largest investment in US auto industry history, totalling about 40 billion dollars, with 30,000 new jobs. He also said that 58 percent of the US auto business had gone and was coming back. The Audi chief executive said the company planned to build its biggest and most premium SUVs in Macon, Georgia, calling it a long-term investment because the company believes in the American market. It is unclear whether the announcement would be the single largest investment in the US auto industry in modern history.

Obama's closing pitch

Barack Obama campaigned for the Democrats in Ohio and Michigan. He attacked the administration over the cost of living and the war in Iran. He said that while presidents can face unexpected factors beyond their control, that was not the case here. In his view, the administration's actions were directly responsible for rising costs. He also said the current president had made a series of bad decisions, including starting an unnecessary war that nobody had asked for and nobody had voted for. He mocked the administration's focus on redecorating the White House. He said there was gold everywhere and joked that the White House looked like Saddam Hussein had opened a cheesecake factory.

Michigan race

In Michigan, Obama appeared at Cass Technical High School in Detroit with Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed. The rally was aimed at shoring up Democratic unity after a bitter primary between El-Sayed and US Representative Haley Stevens. Ben Solis of Michigan Advance said the coalition had been split in half, and El-Sayed has spent months trying to reunite it. Detroit is a key battleground and usually a Democratic stronghold, but some Black voters backed Stevens in the primary. His Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, has worked to chip away at the Democratic base.

Obama faced attacks similar to those used against El-Sayed, including Islamophobia and repeated use of his full Arabic name. Obama said he had starred in this movie before and that the same tactics had not worked well for Republicans in the past. Voters in Michigan cited high prices, inflation, the war in Iran and its economic effects, and Trump's tariffs on Canada as top concerns. El-Sayed argues that systemic change is needed to bring prices down. Rogers championed Trump's tariffs during the campaign but has since distanced himself and called for the Canadian tariff war to end.

The Michigan race is expected to be close. In the primary, it was decided within one percentage point, and a similar result is expected. Union voters remain important. The UAW often endorses Democratic candidates, but some members do not follow the union line. A local reporter said Trump has made inroads with working-class voters, though they have also suffered economically since he returned to office. El-Sayed has campaigned across the state to try to win back working people who backed Trump.