President Obama campaigned for Hillary Clinton on Oct .
14 , in Cleveland , saying Trump is "making excuses all the
time for why he might be losing ." (The Washington Post )
CLEVELAND — Speaking at a rally before at least
2, 500 people
at a regional airport Friday, President Obama told
the enthusiastic crowd that ‘ it needed to work to elect Hillary
Clinton or risk losing “ everything ” Democrats had worked for
over the past eight years.
“ Donald Trump 's closing argument is , ‘ What do you have to
lose ?’ ” he asked the audience . “ The answer is everything . ”
Obama alternated between touting Clinton's qualities and
slamming Trump 's qualifications and temperament .
“ She doesn 't quit, and she doesn 't make excuses . And by the
way , isn 't that what you want from a president ?” he asked as
Clinton supporters waving “ Stronger together ” and “ Love trumps hate ” signs basked in the fall sunshine .
“ You know , I notice her opponent — he seems to be in the
middle of the game , making excuses all the time for why he might be losing , ” Obama continued , prompting laughter . “ And
it ' s always interesting to me to see folks who talk tough but then don ' t act tough . Because if you 're tough , you don't make excuses . You don 't start complaining about the refs before the game is even done . You just play the game , right?”
“ And if you want a leader who actually values hard work and
respects working Americans , if you want higher wages , and
better benefits, and a fair tax code , and equal pay for women ,
and stronger regulations on Wall Street , then you should vote
for Hillary Clinton , ” he said .
The president also questioned Trump 's recent suggestion that a
global elite composed of bankers and financiers is working to
undermine his candidacy .
“ This is a guy who spent all his time hanging around , trying to
convince everybody he was a global elite , ” he said , prompting
laughter . “ Talking about how great his buildings are , how
luxurious , and how rich he is , and flying around everywhere .
All he had time for was celebrities . And now suddenly he ’ s
acting like he’ s a populist out there — ‘ Man , I’ m going to fight
for working people . ’ Come on , man . ”
Picking up a theme that he invoked at a Democratic Party
fundraiser Thursday night , Obama suggested that the
Republican Party had fueled Trump 's rise by catering to its
base .
“ And a lot of Republican elected officials have just stood by, ”
Obama said . “ A lot of House members , a lot of senators , they
stood by and they didn ’ t say anything , because it was a way to
rile up their base and it was a way to mount opposition to
whatever we were trying to do. And over time , because a lot of
the hardcore Republican partisan voters were just hearing this
stuff over and over again , they started to believe it . And that’ s
what allowed Donald Trump suddenly to emerge . Donald
Trump didn ’ t build all this crazy conspiracy stuff . ”
But Obama focused more of his time on detailing the policy
changes he had championed — on health care , the economy ,
same - sex marriage and other issues — to suggest rally
attendees needed to make a greater investment in electing
Clinton .
“ I have to tell you, all that progress goes out the window if we
don 't make the right choice, right now , ” he said .
One of the primary goals of the event was to recruit new
volunteers in the final weeks of the campaign . Clinton
volunteers collected contact information as people walked
through the gates. Chris Wyant , Clinton ' s Ohio state director,
said in an interview Thursday that after supporters left rallies
headlined by Obama , “ they ’ re leaving more motivated , they ’ re
leaving more likely to be a part of this campaign . ”
“ I know everybody here is early- voting, ” Obama said . “ Because
otherwise , you wouldn ' t be here . ”
Trump has gathered significant support in Ohio , and a heckler
who interrupted the president near the beginning of the speech
served as a powerful reminder of that fact.
One man started chanting , “ Bill Clinton ’ s a rapist ! Bill Clinton ’ s
a rapist !” before opening his jacket to display a T - shirt that
featured Bill Clinton 's image and the word “ RAPE . ”
First Obama invited the crowd to chant “ Hill - a - ry !” repeatedly ,
in an effort to drown him out, and then he suggested he go
elsewhere .
Noting it 's been happening “ everywhere , ” he added : “ I keep
telling folks . You' ve got to organize your own rallies! That 's a
better way to spend your time , unless you 're just being paid to
be here , in which case , hey , everybody 's got to make a living . ”
Many of the men and women who came to Cleveland's Burke
Lakefront Airport were enthusiastic backers of Clinton . Lalana
Janlekha - Green , who owns a manufacturing company and lives
in Shaker Heights , said she plans to drive voters from a less-
wealthy neighborhood in Cleveland to the polls .
“ I have to do what I can to get their voices heard, ” she said ,
adding that Clinton 's vision of America is one she can embrace
because she moved to the United States from Thailand more
than four decades ago .
“ I am an immigrant. I am a woman. I am not white . I am not
Christian , ” Janlekha - Green said . “ I think the strength of
America is in the diversity of people coming here , like me . ”
Some attendees were not entirely sold . Blair Pitcairn , who is 25
and makes ice cream at a local company named Mitchell ' s , is a
supporter of Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. He came with
the store's assistant manager, Meghan Marrone, a Clinton
backer , but said he still intended to vote for a third party .
“ I don 't think I'm swayed to vote for Hillary, but I 'm more open
to thinking she'll be a better president than I thought, ” he said ,
adding he prefers Johnson' s less interventionist foreign policy
and his push for marijuana legalization and criminal - justice
reform .
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