<p>Both Obama and Trump are on the campaign trail, but only one of them appears to be descending into madness</p><ul><li><p><strong>This was originally published in This Week in Trumpland. </strong><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/25/election-newsletter-sign-up-stakes"><strong>Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p></li></ul><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/barack-obama">Barack Obama</a> versus <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump">Donald Trump</a>. It is the presidential election that never happened but has come to define an era of US politics.</p><p>Obama is back on the campaign trail for the midterms, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/24/barack-obama-abdul-el-sayed-michigan">still electrifying crowds,</a> earning shouts of “We love you!” and skewering his successor. “What’s up with the gold?” <a href="https://barackobama.medium.com/my-remarks-at-a-detroit-rally-in-support-of-jocelyn-benson-and-abdul-el-sayed-9ea65d77b0ef">he asked a crowd in Detroit</a>. “I mean, he’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.” This has, predictably, set off a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/27/us/cheesecake-factory-designer-white-house-cec">mini culture war</a> involving questions of elitism and the tastefulness of chain restaurants.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/27/trump-obama-rally-midterms-analysis">Continue reading...</a>