Trump, Obama battle for your next vote

WASHINGTON – It had the feel of the 2016 presidential campaign, but with the roles reversed.

In Illinois, Barack Obama went after his successor by name, calling on young people to vote in November to “restore some semblance of sanity to our politics.” He did so reluctantly, he said, because of a “wise American tradition of ex-presidents gracefully exiting the political stage, making room for new voices and new ideas.”

Donald Trump seemed eager to welcome Obama back as a target of his ridicule. As he flew to North Dakota for a fundraiser, Trump was asked if he watched the speech.

“I’m sorry, I watched it but I fell asleep. I found he’s very good for sleeping,” Trump said.

With the midterm elections looming, both Obama and Trump framed the congressional races as a referendum on Trump.

Since returning from an August vacation, Trump has had rallies or fundraisers in New York, West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, Indiana, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. This week, he has campaign events in Missouri and Mississippi. The plan: More than 40 days on the campaign trail leading up to the Nov. 6 election.

Obama heads to Cleveland on Sept. 13 to campaign for Ohio Democratic gubernatorial nominee Richard Cordray. He also will campaign this month in Illinois and Pennsylvania and will headline a fundraiser for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.

“Some of you may think I’m exaggerating when I say this November’s elections are more important than any I can remember in my lifetime,” Obama said.

Trump rattled off issues like immigration and gun rights. “Things like that, they are under siege and things like that can disappear very, very quickly if you don’t have the right people,” Trump said.