Former US president Barack Obama has taken a swipe at the Republican Party ahead of next month's midterm elections, accusing it of being "obsessed" with winning the approval of his sucessor, Donald Trump, while cynically stirring up anger in the American people.
Mr Obama has begun a quickfire tour of battleground states, speaking at events in Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin over the weekend, ahead of stops this week in Nevada and Pennsylvania.
The midterms will be held on November 8, with Mr Trump — still yet to declare his run for president in 2024 — facing mounting legal challenges on multiple fronts.
With the Democrats behind in the polls, they are at risk of losing control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, midway through Joe Biden's four-year term.
Mr Obama, who suffered heavy defeats in his own midterm elections during his eight years in office, accused the Republicans of engaging in culture wars rather than coming up with policies to help Americans during tough economic times.
"These days just about every Republican politician seems obsessed with two things: owning the 'libs' … and getting Donald Trump's approval," Mr Obama told a rally in Michigan.
"That seems to be their agenda … they are not interested in actually solving problems.
"They are interested in making you angry and then finding somebody to blame [because] you may be distracted from the fact that they may not have any answers to your problems."
The previous day, Mr Obama, 61, had blamed the shocking San Francisco home invasion attack on Paul Pelosi — the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — on the right-wing politics of "stirring up division and amplifying anger" through lies.
Having suffered low approval ratings for parts of his presidency, Mr Obama has re-emerged as a popular figure with Democrats and Independents, recording nearly two dozen television commercials in support of candidates.
With the Republicans needing just one extra seat to take control of the Senate, they have targeted Georgia and Nevada, two of the states on Mr Obama's whirlwind tour.
In Georgia, former American football star Herschel Walker, the Republican Senate nominee, is in a tight race with Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat.
Mr Walker, hand-picked by Mr Trump and running on a pro-life platform, has vigorously refuted allegations from two former partners that he ordered them to have secret abortions.
Mr Obama told a rally at College Park, near Atlanta, that Mr Walker was "a celebrity that wants to be a politician" but being "one of the best running backs of all time" didn't make him fit for public office.
"Does that make [Mr Walker] the best person to represent you in the US Senate? Does that make him equipped to weigh in on the critical decisions about our economy and our foreign policy and our future?" Mr Obama asked.
"You may have liked me as president, but you wouldn't want me starting at tailback [in an American Football game] … "I mean, can you imagine my slow, old skinny behind getting hit by some 300-pound (136kg) defensive tackle?
"You would have to scrape me off the field."
Mr Walker, 60, responded by saying he would pray for Obama who had picked "the wrong horse" in his support for Reverend Warnock.
"President Obama said I'm a celebrity. He got that one wrong, didn't he? I'm not a celebrity, I'm a warrior for God," he said.
During his appearance in a Detroit gym with Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmar, Mr Obama's 50-minute speech was twice interrupted by hecklers, as he brought up the divisive issue of female reproductive rights.
Many US states have restricted or banned abortions after the decision in June by the US Supreme Court to overturn the Roe v Wade ruling from 1973.
Ms Whitmar's Republican challenger, Tudor Dixon, favours an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest or the health of the mother.
"We should all agree women everywhere should be able to control what happens with their own bodies," Mr Obama said.
Just 21 months into his term, Mr Biden has almost become a liability for some Democratic candidates in tight races, with only a 39 per cent approval among all voters, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll.
That is why America's only black president continues to break with protocol to campaign for his former sidekick rather than "tuning out" from election season.
"I understand why it might be tempting just to tune out, to watch football or 'Dancing with the Stars,'" Mr Obama said.
"I am here to tell you that tuning out is not an option. The only way to save democracy is if we, together, nurture and fight for it."
ABC/Wires
