$40 trillion: The debt figure Obama cited at Atlanta rally

Barack Obama cited a national debt of $40 trillion at a campaign rally in Atlanta on Wednesday. He attributed the figure to President Donald Trump's trade policies and the ongoing conflict with Iran. The speech took place five days before the midterm elections.

Obama argued that the war in Iran has increased American vulnerability. He noted that the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28. Those strikes targeted Tehran and killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz. That waterway handles about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

The former president stated that the US has run down its stock of missiles. He said this makes the country more vulnerable to attack. "Iran now has veto power over the Strait of Hormuz where much of the world's oil goes through to get to consumers," Obama told supporters. He linked this situation directly to higher prices for oil, diesel, and other consumer goods.

Obama criticized the tariffs Trump imposed shortly after taking office in early 2025. He said economists warned that consumers would pay the cost of those tariffs. "And that's exactly what happened," he said. He pointed to the ongoing trade dispute with Canada. Trump announced 50 percent tariffs on Canadian vehicles and auto parts starting in January 2027. Canada retaliated with matching tariffs after talks collapsed in August.

"The big trade war he's waging now is that well-known evil empire, that historical adversary of the United States, Canada," Obama said. He also accused the White House of alienating allies while bending to Russia. He said the administration is selling out Ukrainians who are fighting for their freedom.

The former president mocked Trump's focus on White House renovations. He compared the gold decorations to a Cheesecake Factory interior. "He is literally doing arts and crafts while we are fighting a war and trying to deal with out-of-control prices," Obama said. He noted that the administration mobilized a whole-of-government response to his joke rather than to inflation.

In Chillicothe, Ohio, Trump defended his military campaign against Iran. He criticized the 2015 nuclear deal reached under Obama. "I terminated Barack Hussein Obama's JCPOA or the Iran nuclear deal, which was a road to a nuclear weapon for Iran and one of the dumbest deals I've ever seen in my life," Trump said. He claimed US operations destroyed Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and 159 naval vessels.

Trump suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz the "Trump Strait." He stated that oil shipments through the waterway have increased. The strait connects the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. Before the war, about a fifth of the world's oil consumption passed through that route.

The president made a rare reference to Jeffrey Epstein. He said he threw Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago about two decades ago. "I threw Jeffrey Epstein the hell out of Mar-a-Lago," Trump said. He accused Democrats of having ties to Epstein. He claimed protesters at the rally were paid $250 to disrupt the event.

Trump announced that Venezuela delivered one million barrels of oil to the US for free. The shipment arrived in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday. That was nearly 10 months after US forces removed President Nicolas Maduro from power. Trump said the US is now working with Venezuela's interim government to expand oil production. He described the military operation as a victory that ended in one day.