Obama brings back 'don't boo, vote' and a lot of dad jokes in Florida rally for Biden

(Image credit: RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images)

Former President Barack Obama brought some big dad energy to his latest rally for Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Obama held a drive-in rally Tuesday in Florida, a state Obama won twice and is critical to Biden's election. He spent his speech mocking Republicans, asking attendees to imagine a world without Trump, and even bringing back some old favorite catchphrases to encourage Floridians to vote.

Obama kicked off the rally by calling out voters for being "complacent" in 2016. "And look at what happened," Obama said. America has ended up with a president and Republican Senate that's constantly promising a better health care plan and never following through, like a Popeye character who "always needed to borrow some money for a hamburger," Obama said. He acknowledged the audience may have been too young for the reference, but it still got some approving boos. That's when Obama brought out a popular line: "Don't boo, vote."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Obama then turned his attention to President Trump, his pandemic response, and his overall "bizarre behavior." Trump has bragged about having the support of "some of our greatest adversaries" and advised Americans to "inject bleach to cure COVID," to name a few confusing choices, Obama noted. "Even Florida man wouldn't be doing some of this stuff," Obama joked.

And at the end of it all, Obama made a very wholesome request: "Honk if you're fired up. Honk if you're ready to go."

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.