(The Center Square) – Former President Barack Obama is the latest to visit Arizona on behalf of the Harris-Walz campaign. During his speech on Friday evening in Tucson, Obama spent most of his time dissuading Arizonans from voting for former President Donald Trump.
“I understand why people are looking to shake things up,” he said. “I get why people are sometimes frustrated with politics. What I cannot understand is why anyone thinks that Donald Trump would shake things up in a way that is good for you because there is absolutely no evidence that this man thinks about anyone but himself.”
Obama said that he understands why people are upset with the current economic situation and how Trump could seem like a better option. However, Obama stated that Trump’s economy was the result of his presidency.
“Yeah it was good because it was my economy that I gave to him,” Obama said. “When I handed over the economy to Donald Trump, we had had 75 years of job growth.”
Additionally, he said that the reason inflation is so high now is because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Obama encouraged Arizonans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, saying that her track record as a prosecutor combined with her proposed policies would “build a country that’s more fair, just and free.”
“If you elect Kamala and Tim [Walz], they will not be focusing on their problems, they will be focusing on yours,” he said. “Kamala Harris doesn’t have a concept of a plan, she has an actual plan.”
Obama noted that from his experience working with Harris, she has put the quality of life of the American people above her own concerns or even her political party, saying that she pushed back against him when exploring solutions during the housing crisis.
Obama was notably one of the last high-profile Democrats to endorse Harris after the party pressured Biden to withdraw from the race.
Some policies that Harris has recently announced include a program that would give up to $25,000 to first time homebuyers to assist with a down payment, planned negotiations with pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, a $50,000 tax credit to those who are starting a small business and a tax credit to parents during the first year of having a child.
Obama made sure to address the border crisis, a topic that Trump often ranks higher on, saying that Harris has proposed a plan to tighten security at the border while ensuring that those in need are able to seek asylum in the country.
Harris has said that she has worked on legislation to crack down on the border, citing the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act which failed in the Senate after Trump spoke out against it. The $118 billion bill would have expanded detention facilities and hired more border control agents, asylum officers and immigration judges. Opponents said the measure would have encouraged more illegal immigration.
Harris has said that she plans to bring this bill back if elected president and noted that after all of Trump’s advocacy regarding securing the border, he spoke out against a bill that would do just that.
“He cared more about winning an election than he did to actually solve the problem,” Obama said. “We were built on immigrants looking for a better life. We also have to make sure that the system is working like it was supposed to.”
Throughout his speech, when the crowd booed because of comments made about Trump, Obama would repeat a line he’s frequently used, saying “don’t boo, vote.”
“They can’t hear you when you boo, but everyone can hear you when you vote,” he said.
