Obama tells Ohio voters Iran war cost two trillion dollars

Former President Barack Obama told a crowd in Ohio on Saturday that the United States paid two trillion dollars for an unnecessary conflict with Iran. He made the financial argument while urging voters to reject the Republican administration ahead of the midterm elections.

Obama joined Ohio Governor Amy Acton and former Senator Sherrod Brown at the campaign stop. The event focused on two tight state races where polls currently show Democrats holding a slight lead.

The former president criticized President Donald Trump's foreign policy choices. He argued that the current administration started a war that nobody requested. Obama described the past two years as a period of chaos, cruelty, and corruption that voters have now had enough of.

The rally also addressed a controversy in the governor's race involving Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy released an attack ad featuring Donna Arthur, Acton's mother. Arthur disputed her daughter's account of childhood homelessness and sexual abuse by a stepfather who was charged with rape and died in 2004.

Acton stated that she has not seen her mother since 1978. Her brother supported her version of the events. Obama backed Acton, noting that she spoke movingly about her history of abuse, neglect, and homelessness.

The former president said the recent ad showed that Ramaswamy has no limit on how low he will sink. He questioned how standards of behavior dropped so low that such an advertisement could be released. Brown is running against incumbent Republican Senator Jon Husted in the state's other key contest.