Live Updates: Obama and Trump hold dueling rallies as 2026 midterm campaigns make final pre-Election Day pitch

Updated on: October 28, 2026 / 9:46 PM EDT / CBS News

President Trump rallied Ohio voters on Wednesday, seeking to boost Republican Sen. Jon Husted and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and — as he has in many of his recent rallies — urging voters in the state to "pretend I'm on the ballot."

Mr. Trump won Ohio three times in a row, leading by 11.2 points in 2024. But polls show a set of tight races in the Buckeye State, as former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown attempts to return to Congress.

The president promoted his record and defended his handling of the Iran war, which he said he'll "finish up … very quickly." He also continued to riff on a familiar theme — Husted's physique, which Mr. Trump has brought up several times in recent days.

Mr. Trump also said if Husted wins next week, he will consider putting a planned U.S. military service academy — the Space Academy — in Ohio. "Everybody wants it. Every state, they all want it," he said.

After former President Barack Obama drew President Trump's ire for saying the recent spate of White House renovations looked like "Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory,"…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/