Former U.S. President Barack Obama, left, delivers his speech at the 16th Annual Nelson Mandela Lecture at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday, July 17, 2018. In his highest-profile speech since leaving office, Obama urged people around the world to respect human rights and other values under threat in an address marking the 100th anniversary of anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela's birth. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) First lady on Trump: We'll help in any way BERLIN, GERMANY - MAY 25: Former President of the United States of America Barack Obama after a discussion about democracy at Church Congress on May 25, 2017 in Berlin, Germany. Up to 200,000 faithful are expected to attend the five-day congress in Berlin and Wittenberg that this year is celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. (Photo by Steffi Loos/Getty Images) ANAHEIM, CA - SEPTEMBER 08: Former U.S. President Barack Obama waves to the crowd during a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee rally at the Anaheim Convention Center on September 8, 2018 in Anaheim, California. This is Obama's first campaign rally for the 2018 midterm elections. (Photo by Barbara Davidson/Getty Images) URBANA, IL - SEPTEMBER 07: Former President Barack Obama speaks to students at the University of Illinois where he accepted the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government on September 7, 2018 in Urbana, Illinois. The award is an annual honor given by the university's Institute of Government and Public Affairs to recognize public officials who have made significant contributions in public service. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (CNN) — Former President Barack Obama, a day after delivering a stinging critique of President Donald Trump’s time in office, had a stark warning for fired-up Democrats in California: This is not rock bottom. Obama urged the Democrats at his first rally of 2018 to get out and vote in November, telling them that the dismay they feel about Washington right now means nothing is they don’t follow through by voicing their displeasure at the ballot box. “This is a consequential moment in our history. The fact is if we don’t step up things can get worse,” he said to audible groans from the 750 Democrats in the room on Saturday. “When there is a vacuum in our democracy … other voices fill the void. But the good news is in two months, we have a chance to restore some sanity in our politics. We have a chance to flip the House of Representatives.” The speech was a departure from the lengthy and direct rebuke of Trump he delivered on Friday, where he mentioned the current President two times and lambasted him for leaning on law enforcement to protect Republicans from prosecution, slammed him for “cozying up” to Russian President Vladimir Putin and faulted him for equivocating about who was at fault during the white supremacist protests last year in Charlottesville, Virginia. On Saturday, Obama didn’t mention Trump once and, instead, told Democrats that the problems in Washington are bigger than one person. “The biggest threat to our democracy … is not one individual, it is not one big super PAC billionaires,” he said. “It is apathy, it is indifference, it is us not doing what we are supposed to do.” It was clear in the audience, however, that most attendees believed Trump was the biggest threat. When Obama began to describe what he thought was the biggest issue, a man in the audience yelled, “Trump.” The event, organized by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, was an attempt to boost seven Democrats running in districts Hillary Clinton won in 2016 but which are represented by the Republicans in the House. The event officially ended Obama’s absence from the campaign trail, a months-long void that has angered some Democrats who believe he is not engaging in a political fight where he could be helpful. Obama touted the sevent candidates - Josh Harder (CA-10), TJ Cox (CA-21), Katie Hill (CA-25), Gil Cisneros (CA-39), Katie Porter (CA-45), Harley Rouda (CA-48), and Mike Levin (CA-49) - by name, casting them as people who understand how critical it is for Democrats to step up in 2018. “It is always tempting for politicians, for their own gain, and for people in power, to try to see if they can divide people, scapegoat folks, turn them on each other because when that happens, you get gridlock and government doesn’t work and people get cynical and they decide not to participate,” he said. “That unfortunately has been a spiral that we have been on for the last couple of years.” His prescription, he said, was “when each of us as citizens say we are going to take it upon ourselves to do it differently.” And while the speech was not as direct as his remarks in Illinois, Obama did cast the current administration as one that is seizing on division. That Illinois speech was a break from tradition – one where former commanders-in-chief don’t criticize their successors – but Obama argued that Trump’s presidency represented a time when everyone needed to stand up. “You happen to be coming of age” amid backlash to progress, Obama told the students at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “It did not start with Donald Trump, he is a symptom, not the cause. He is just capitalizing on resentment that politicians have been fanning for years. A fear, an anger that is rooted in our past but is also borne in our enormous upheavals that have taken place in your brief lifetimes.” His overarching message in both speeches, however, was the complaining does nothing when people don’t vote. “Don’t tell me your vote doesn’t matter,” he said in Illinois. “And if you thought elections don’t matter, I hope these last two years have corrected the impression.” A polarizing draw to the polls Those Democrats Obama rallied with on Saturday welcomed his return to the campaign trail. “It’s truly exciting to welcome President Obama to Southern California, and I welcome the opportunity to campaign alongside him and energize voters ahead of the final two months of the campaign,” Cisneros said in a statement. Chelsea Brossard, Harder’s campaign manager, called Saturday an “all hands on deck moment” for the campaign and said they were “proud to have this level of support as we begin the final stretch.” But Republicans have been just as eager to welcome Obama back to the campaign trail, too, believing he will rally their base as much, if not more, than he rallies Democrats. “For three cycles (2010, 2012, 2014) President Obama fired up Republicans like nobody,” Rep. Steve Stivers, the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told reporters on Friday. “And I’m happy he wants to do it again.” While Clinton won all seven districts in 2016, Obama had won only three in 2012, leaving Democrats in the state hopeful that his Obama’s return could end up helping them. Cox, Democrats’ nominee in CA-21, said that optimism was misplaced, and action necessary. “This President and this Congress are hitting people right in the pocket book and people see that,” Cox said, arguing Obama will offer them an image of Democratic leadership. “The best thing the president (Obama) could say is this: Vote, vote, vote. And that is it. We can march, we can rally, we can put signs up. All that matters … is getting out there and voting.” Following his California visit, Obama will travel to Ohio next Thursday for an event for Richard Cordray, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Ohio, and he is also slated to headline a campaign event in Pennsylvania later this month, and a New York fundraiser for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, an organization led by former Attorney General Eric Holder, Obama’s longtime friend.<doc-sep>In contrast to his speech in Illinois, Mr. Obama did not mention Mr. Trump by name, though the object of his dark warnings about the nation was obvious to his audience — who greeted him with cheers and shouts of “take it back.” But from the start of his 23-minute speech, Mr. Obama, wearing a white shirt with an open collar, made clear he had set himself a different task: He was there to promote the candidacies of Democrats in California and across the country trying to win Republican seats. To that end, he named seven such Democrats running for the House, offering them brief and enthusiastic endorsements that were captured on Democratic Party cameras and that will presumably end up in candidate advertisements before long. For the start of his support tour, Mr. Obama chose a part of the nation, Orange County, rich in political symbolism. The county was historically a conservative stronghold — the birthplace of Richard M. Nixon — that has been turning steadily Democratic over the past decade. Hillary Clinton defeated Mr. Trump here in 2016. And five of the seven seats Democrats are going after are in Orange and San Diego Counties. Orange County is home to the Republican that Democrats view as most vulnerable this November: Dana Rohrabacher, because of his strong support of Mr. Trump and ties to Russia. He is being challenged by Harley Rouda, a Republican turned Democrat, who was in the audience as Mr. Obama spoke. Mr. Obama’s decision to enter the fray is not without risks. It could very well, as some Democrats acknowledge, energize Republican and conservative voters, of which there are many in this part of the state, who have long opposed Mr. Obama.<doc-sep>ANAHEIM, Calif. — Former President Barack Obama says the November midterm elections will give Americans “a chance to restore some sanity in our politics,” taking another swipe at his successor as he raises his profile campaigning for fellow Democrats to regain control of the House. Obama didn’t mention President Donald Trump by name during a 20-minute speech Saturday in the key Southern California battleground of Orange County but the allusions were clear. “We’re in a challenging moment because, when you look at the arc of American history, there’s always been a push and pull between those who want to go forward and those who want to look back, between those who want to divide and those are seeking to bring people together, between those who promote the politics of hope and those who exploit the politics of fear,” he said. His appearance — one day after a strongly worded critique of Trump at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — touched on themes of retirement security, climate change and education. “If we don’t step up, things can get worse,” the former president told the audience at the Anaheim Convention Center. “In two months, we have the chance to restore some sanity to our politics. We have the chance to flip the House of Representatives and make sure there are real checks and balances in Washington.” Obama gave shout-outs to seven Democratic candidates in competitive House districts across California that are considered crucial to the party’s efforts to oust Republicans from control. Four of those districts are at least partly in Orange County, a formerly reliable GOP bastion that went for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. “We’re going to put on our marching shoes, we’re going to start knocking on some doors, we’re going to start making some calls,” he said to cheers. Clinton trounced Trump by more than 4 million votes in California in 2016 and carried Orange County by 9 percentage points. A surge in immigrants has transformed California and its voting patterns. The number of Hispanics, blacks and Asians combined has outnumbered whites in the state since 1998. Meanwhile, new voters, largely Latinos and Asians, lean Democratic. In Orange County, Republicans held a 13-point edge in voter registration 10 years ago but that has shrunk to 3 points while independents, who tend to vote like Democrats in California, have climbed to 25 percent. Democrats, hoping to build on their 39-14 advantage in the state’s congressional delegation, are eyeing Republican seats in districts that Clinton won in 2016. Each of the seven candidates that Obama campaigned for on Saturday fit that description. In Orange County, GOP Rep. Mimi Walters faces a challenge from Katie Porter, a law professor at University of California at Irvine. Environmental lawyer Mike Levin is seeking an open seat to replace retiring GOP Rep. Darrell Issa in a district that includes part of Orange County. READ NEXT: What Tuesday’s too-close-to-call elections mean for November Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, whose district encompasses part of Orange County, is fending off a challenge from Democratic real estate investor Harley Rouda to secure a 16th term in Congress despite barely winning 30 percent of the primary vote. In the other Orange County race, Gil Cisneros, a Democratic philanthropist and Navy veteran, is vying for an open seat created by retiring Republican Ed Royce. Obama also highlighted two races in the state’s Central Valley, praising venture capitalist Josh Harder in his bid to unseat four-term Republican Jeff Denham, and T.J. Cox, who is challenging David Valadao in a district where Democrats hold a 17-point advantage in voter registration. He also made a plug for nonprofit executive Katie Hill in her Los Angeles-area race to unseat sophomore Republican Steve Knight, who won an underwhelming 53 percent of the vote in 2016. California Republicans said Obama’s appearance would have little impact and may even help their party. “I wish he would come more often because he reminds Republicans of eight years of misery,” said Republican National Committeeman Shawn Steel, who lives in Orange County. “It reminds the Republicans why these midterms are important.” Vice President Mike Pence says it’s disappointing that Obama is back on the campaign trail criticizing Trump. Says Pence: “The truth is, the American people in 2016 rejected the policy and direction of Barack Obama when they elected President Donald Trump.” Pence comments came in a taped interview set to air on “Fox News Sunday.” Fox released an excerpt on Saturday. Obama is expected to deliver a similar message in Cleveland on Thursday, when he campaigns on behalf of Richard Cordray, the Democratic nominee for Ohio governor, and other Democrats. Associated Press writer Jeff Horwitz in Washington contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
Former President Barack Obama spoke at a rally in Anaheim, California, on Saturday afternoon to support seven Democratic congressional candidates running for office in districts that Hillary Clinton won in 2016. The rally, Obama's first appearance on behalf of specific candidates, came a day after the former president spoke at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champlain. In that speech, Obama criticized President Trump and the Republican members of Congress in the most explicit terms since leaving office eighteen months ago. "As a fellow citizen, not as an ex-president but as a citizen, I'm here to deliver simple message and that is that you need to vote because our democracy depends on it," Obama said on Friday. He also said that Mr. Trump was a "symptom, not the cause" of divisions in American society. The rally on Saturday was more focused on the specific candidates he was supporting. "Today what I really want to do is highlight the extraordinary collection of candidates who have decided to step up and bring out the best in our country," Obama said. Obama criticized politicians who "scapegoat" people, leading citizens to get demoralized and stop participating in politics. "When people don't participate, that vacuum is filled with lobbyists and special interests," he said. He then listed issues that he and Democrats will fight for, such as gender equality, better education services and better treatment for veterans. "This is a government for everybody, it's not for sale, that's what we believe in," Obama said, to loud cheers. He then praised the candidates he was in California to support. "They stepped up, they're fired up, they're ready to go," Obama said, repeating a campaign slogan from his 2008 campaign. Obama's appearance in Anaheim benefited Democrats running in the traditionally Republican Orange County. He spoke individually about each candidate -- Josh Harder, TJ Cox, Katie Hill, Gil Cisneros, Katie Porter, Harley Rouda and Mike Levin. Obama made the case that the midterm elections were a chance to "restore sanity" by flipping the House of Representatives to Democratic control. "All across the country, you can feel the energy. 'We're going to kick off our bedroom slippers and put on our marching shoes,'" he said about people who were politically engaged for the first time. The main theme of this speech, as with the previous one, was to encourage voters who may not have participated in 2016 to be active in 2018. "Are you ready to get to work?" Obama asked the audience three times at the end of his speech, to enthusiastic cheers of "yes." The rally was organized by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.