Former President Barack Obama turned up the heat in Newark, New Jersey, delivering a scorching takedown of President Donald Trump while campaigning for Rep. Mikie Sherrill in her nail-biter of a gubernatorial race, as the New York Post reports.

At a high-energy rally held at Essex County College Gymnasium, Obama joined over 3,000 supporters to prop up Sherrill’s bid against Republican Jack Ciattarelli, as Democrats fight to hold a state usually considered a safe bet amid alarmingly tight polls.

The event was so packed that Sherrill’s campaign estimated over 2,000 hopeful attendees were turned away due to capacity limits.

Obama Takes Center Stage with Trump Critique

Surrounded by New Jersey’s Democrat powerhouses like Sen. Cory Booker, Gov. Phil Murphy, and Rep. Nellie Pou, Obama dominated the spotlight with a speech that barely mentioned Ciattarelli but zeroed in on Trump with surgical precision.

He accused the current administration of steering the nation into chaos with policies ranging from supposedly erratic tariffs to what he said were questionable interventions in federal agencies such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Costs haven’t gone down, they’ve gone up, partly because of Trump’s shambolic tariff policy,” Obama stated, a pointed critique that glosses over the broader economic pressures beyond any one leader’s control.

Obama’s Broader Attack on Republican Policies

Obama didn’t stop at economics, piling on accusations of promoting unproven medical fixes, ordering sweeping immigration enforcement actions, and even wrecking parts of the White House’s historic spaces.

He also took aim at Republican resistance to diversity and equity programs, suggesting they blame every societal hiccup on such initiatives -- a jab that feels more like political theater than substantive critique.

“They never miss a chance to scapegoat minorities and blame DEI for every problem under the sun,” Obama quipped, a line that might energize his base but risks oversimplifying a complex policy debate.

Polling Reveals Razor-Thin Race

Recent numbers paint a grim picture for Democrats: an Atlas Intel poll shows Sherrill leading Ciattarelli by a mere 50.2% to 49.3%, within the margin of error, while Real Clear Politics averages give her just under a 3% edge.

Even with a slight Democrat advantage in early voting -- less than 2 percentage points -- the race remains a toss-up in a state Joe Biden carried by a wide margin in 2020.

Minority voter turnout could tip the scales in Newark, where nearly half the population is Black and over a third Hispanic, groups where Sherrill holds strong leads according to a Suffolk University survey.

Sherrill’s Campaign Struggles Under Scrutiny

Sherrill, a four-term House member with a Navy background, has positioned herself as a centrist, likely aiming to appeal to moderates, though her earlier push for Biden to abandon his presidential run raises eyebrows about her political calculations.

Her campaign took a hit recently when she faltered in a CBS New York interview, struggling to articulate clear legislative priorities -- a moment dubbed “disastrous” by NJ State Sen. Holly Schepisi, casting doubt on whether celebrity endorsements can paper over such missteps.

Meanwhile, Ciattarelli, buoyed by a surprisingly strong showing in 2021 and Trump’s backing, remains a serious contender, planning a rival event in Monmouth while dismissing high-profile cameos as irrelevant to voters focused on substance over spectacle.