Obama in Georgia lambasts Walker as 'a celebrity that wants to be a politician' - CNN

CNN  — 

Former President Barack Obama described Herschel Walker arsenic “a personage that wants to beryllium a politician” during a code Friday nighttime successful Georgia, lauding the Republican Senate nominee arsenic “one of the champion moving backs of each time,” but idiosyncratic who is not equipped to beryllium a United States senator.

Obama went point-for-point against Walker, calling him “someone who carries astir a phony badge and says helium is successful instrumentality enforcement similar a kid playing cops and robbers,” attacking his “issues of character” and his “habit of not telling the truth,” and describing him arsenic idiosyncratic who is going to beryllium truthful loyal to erstwhile President Donald Trump “it means helium is not going to beryllium truly reasoning astir you oregon your needs.”

The speech, the erstwhile Democratic president’s archetypal afloat foray onto the run way successful 2022, framed the midterms arsenic a prime predetermination “between politicians who look consenting to bash thing to get powerfulness and leaders who stock our values, who spot you and attraction astir you.”

“Just astir each Republican person seems obsessed with 2 things – owning the libs and getting Donald Trump’s approval,” Obama said. “That’s their agenda, it is not long, it is not analyzable and, astatine slightest to me, it is not precise inspiring. They aren’t funny successful really solving problems. They are funny successful making you aggravated and uncovering idiosyncratic to blame. Because that mode you whitethorn not announcement that they person got not answers of their own.”

Obama was greeted with booming applause wrong the Gateway Center Arena successful College Park, Georgia. At respective points, helium delivered 1 of his aged run classics: “Don’t boo, vote!”

He acknowledged the economical headwinds facing Democrats successful November, saying: “Listen, ostentation is simply a existent occupation close now. It’s not conscionable successful America, it’s world-wide. It’s 1 of the legacies of the pandemic.”

But helium suggested Republicans person not offered policies oregon plans of their own, saying: “Republicans speech a batch astir it, but what is their answer? What are their economical policies?”

Yet Obama’s astir pointed commentary was aimed astatine Walker, calling his contention against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, which is cardinal to power of the evenly divided Senate, a “study successful contrast.”

The commentary opened with a compliment of Walker, a legendary shot subordinate astatine the University of Georgia who won the Heisman Trophy successful 1982.

“Now determination are a batch of young radical here, yes, that makes maine excited. Some of you whitethorn not remember, but Herschel Walker was a heck of a shot player,” Obama said. “In college, helium was amazing. One of the champion moving backs of each time. But present is the question: Does that marque him the champion idiosyncratic to correspond you successful the US Senate? Does that marque him equipped to measurement successful connected the captious decisions astir our system and our overseas argumentation and our future?”

Obama past joked that conscionable due to the fact that Walker won the Heisman, it doesn’t mean the assemblage would fto him alert a level they were connected oregon bash country connected them without knowing whether helium was qualified.

“By the way, the other is existent too. You whitethorn person liked maine arsenic president, but you wouldn’t privation maine starting astatine tailback by the dogs,” helium said. “I mean, tin you ideate my slow, aged skinny down getting deed by immoderate 300 lb antiaircraft tackle who runs a 4.6 40 (yard dash)? You would person to scrape maine disconnected the field. No, I can’t. No, I can’t. I americium bully astatine a batch of things but that would not beryllium 1 of those things that I americium bully at.”

But past Obama laid into the Republican.

“There is precise small grounds that helium has taken immoderate interest, bothered to larn thing astir oregon displayed immoderate benignant of inclination towards nationalist work oregon unpaid enactment oregon helping radical successful anyway,” Obama said, aboriginal nodding to Trump by arguing that Walker appears to beryllium a “celebrity that wants to beryllium a person and we person seen however that goes.”

Then Obama raised Walker’s “issues of character,” an evident notation to the allegations that helium paid for 2 women to terminate their pregnancies.

Walker, who has antecedently advocated for a nationalist prohibition connected abortions with nary exceptions, has denied the claims.

Obama said Walker was “in the wont of not telling the truth, being successful the wont of saying 1 happening and doing another, being successful the wont of having definite rules for you and your important friends and different rules for everybody else.”

“That says thing astir the benignant of person you are going to be,” helium added. “And if a candidate’s main qualification is that helium is going to beryllium loyal to Donald Trump, it means helium is not going to beryllium truly reasoning astir you oregon your needs.”

Walker pushed backmost connected Obama’s comments successful a connection Saturday.

“President Obama was present past night. He said I’m a celebrity. He got that 1 wrong, didn’t he? I’m not a celebrity, I’m a warrior for God,” the GOP nominee said.

Walker besides said helium would commune for Obama, who helium said picked the “wrong horse” by endorsing Warnock.

“He needs immoderate assistance due to the fact that helium got with the incorrect horse. Senator Warnock is the incorrect horse. You cognize helium can’t bash the job, and it’s clip for him to leave,” Walker said.

Obama was not the lone Democrat to measurement up the rhetoric against Walker – Warnock, too, utilized his code introducing the erstwhile president to telephone retired his Republican hostile by name.

Reflecting the interest among Democrats that the contention is tight, Warnock urged Georgians to see the consequences of the election, saying, “A ballot is your voice, your dependable is your quality dignity.”

In his remarks to booming applause successful the crowd, Warnock straight confronted his rival – echoing Obama’s critique that Walker is not ready.

“Simply put, Herschel Walker is not ready,” Warnock said. “He’s not ready. He’s not ready. Not lone is helium not ready, he’s not fit.”

Warnock, who has said his Republican hostile struggles with the truth, added later, “If we can’t spot him to archer the information astir his life, however we tin spot him to support our lives and our families and our children and our jobs and our future?”

Obama spent little clip focusing connected Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, contempt Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams speaking during the event. Obama noted immoderate of the voting laws Kemp and Republicans successful Georgia passed successful the aftermath of the 2018 election, but was acold little direct.

Instead, the erstwhile president offered much wide thoughts astir the midterms.

“I get wherefore radical are anxious. I get wherefore you mightiness beryllium worried. I recognize wherefore it mightiness beryllium tempting conscionable to tune out, to ticker shot oregon ‘Dancing with the Stars,’” Obama said. “But I americium present to archer you that tuning retired is not an option. Despair is not an option. The lone mode to marque this system fairer is if we, each of us, combat for it. The lone mode to prevention ideology is if we, together, nurture and combat for it.”

He added: “The cardinal question that you should beryllium asking yourself close present is who volition combat for you? Who cares astir you? Who sees you? Who believes successful you? That is the prime successful this election.”

Although Obama spent little clip connected the governor’s race, the arena erupted successful chants of “Stacey! Stacey! Stacey!” arsenic Abrams took the signifier earlier the erstwhile president. She invoked the past of Obama’s ain predetermination successful 2008 – and reelection successful 2012 – and implored voters to judge that she tin overtake Kemp, who polls amusement has an borderline successful the race.

“We defied the accepted contented to present generational change,” Abrams said, “and we’re astir to bash it again, Georgia, we’re astir to bash it again.”

She added: “We defied past again and again and we volition bash it connected November 8 due to the fact that that is who we are. We are 1 Georgia, and we judge successful ourselves, and we judge successful tomorrow.”

Hours earlier Obama arrived, agelong lines stretched astir the Gateway Center Arena successful College Park, conscionable extracurricular of Atlanta. Aides with clipboards and laptop computers passed done the crowd, signing radical up for unpaid run shifts to spell door-to-door this weekend.

Above all, officials said, the lawsuit was intended to beryllium an organizing tool.

“Having President Obama present shows that we are inactive fighting, we are pushing toward Election Day,” Rep. Nikema Williams, who is besides chairwoman of the Georgia Democratic Party, told CNN. “It’s astir bringing radical unneurotic and breathtaking voters who are inactive looking for inspiration during this predetermination cycle.”

More than 1.3 cardinal radical had already voted successful Georgia by Friday, according to the caput of state’s office, with 1 much week remaining successful the aboriginal voting period.

Inside the arena, a DJ warmed up the capableness assemblage of astir 6,000 people, with Democrats waving signs for Warnock, Abrams and different authorities and section candidates connected the ballot.

“Vote early, present done November 4,” screamed ample bluish signs successful the arena. “Election Day: November 8.”

This communicative has been updated with further reaction.