Obama adds some zing to Democrats’ closing message

▪ Peltola denies recruiting other Sullivan

▪ Netanyahu accuses Arab parties of fraud

Former President Obama kicked his feud with President Trump up a notch on Wednesday as he tries to help the blue wave materialize in next week’s midterms.

Campaigning for Democrats in Georgia, Obama responded to Trump’s comments pushing back on his own remark comparing the president’s White House renovations to the Cheesecake Factory — if it were decorated by the late Iraqi dictator Sadam Hussein .

“They mobilized a whole-of-government response to that joke, not to inflation, but to that joke,” he said. “This is what I mean when I say these are not serious people.”

Obama stirred the pot during another campaign stop in Ohio over the weekend, he poked fun at the White House renovations, which are reportedly expected to cost at least $900 million .

“He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory,” he said.

The former Iraqi dictator’s palaces were famously adorned with gold, which has been a common feature in Trump’s renovations as well. Cheesecake Factories are known for their maximalist, eclectic decor.

Trump fired back on the remark during a Monday rally in Mississippi.

“He said, ‘This isn’t a Cheesecake Factory.’ Can you believe it? Which is a very successful company. He doesn’t like successful companies,” he said.

The White House leaned into Obama’s comments, posting a fake Cheesecake Factory menu touting Trump administration policies in a post on the social platform X. It said the list of Trump’s accomplishments is the “only thing bigger” than the restaurant’s menu.

Various conservative commentators also jumped on the remarks, arguing they showed Obama was out of touch with the average American.

Obama argued Wednesday that Trump seemed more bothered by the comparison to the restaurant chain than his biting criticism of the president’s economic policies.

“Of course, the real problem is the price has gotten so high, a lot of folks can barely afford to go out to eat, so you would think that this administration would be spending time worrying about that. But that was the interesting thing about how the administration responded to the speech I gave,” Obama said.

The exchange is just one front in the closing days of the most expensive midterm battle in history.

Despite the president’s unpopularity and some Republicans distancing from him, Trump and the GOP have pinned their hopes on his ability to turn out the base in red states. And Obama still holds the role as the star-powered closer for Democrats.

The former president has made a few key campaign stops over the past week to rally support for Democrats in tough races. He appeared with Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Detroit on Saturday, despite the candidates past critiques of Obama’s policies.

“Well, we’ve lived through two Trump terms now,” El-Sayed told “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker about his past criticism . “So, look, I know that President Obama was handed a really difficult set of circumstances, and he did his best.”

Obama also joined Democrats Sherrod Brown and Amy Acton as they campaign for Senate and governor, respectively, in Ohio before his Georgia rally for Sen. Jon Ossoff and gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms .

Trump has had campaign stops every day this week in the race’s homestretch. He made his third visit this month to Ohio last night, seeking to boost Sen. Jon Husted (R) and Vivek Ramaswamy .

He zeroed in on the report that Senate Democrats worked with Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola ‘s campaign to recruit a spoiler candidate on the ballot. (More on that below.)

“That’s what they’re good at – cheating,” Trump said.

▪ The Hill : Democrats see battleground map expand.

▪ The Hill : The Memo: Trump faces midterm rebuke — if the polls are right.

TUNE IN: At 2 p.m. EDT today, The Hill will be doing an encore live stream of our event covering this year’s Medicaid open enrollment period, “ Bang for Your Buck: Get the Most from Your 2027 Medicare Benefits .” Register to receive a link to the live stream. Lots of helpful information for Medicare participants and those in the healthcare space.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ousted a top military strategist from the Pentagon, the latest senior officer removed from the department under Hegseth’s leadership. The officer fired was Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, who served as the director for strategy, plans and policy, J-5 on the Joint Staff, two U.S. officials familiar with the situation said.

The Federal Election Commission’s electronic filing system has been restored and is back online following technical issues it experienced just a week before Election Day. What caused the outage is unclear, though Reuters reported that the agency’s website was the target of hacking.

A federal judge has ordered a new hearing on the president’s plans to redevelop East Potomac Park to create a professional-style golf course after Trump vowed to continue with his schedule despite a court order blocking additional construction. The hearing will be held either Friday or Monday.

Mary Peltola, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate seat in Alaska, addresses supporters at an election watch party on Aug. 18, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Mark Thiessen, Associated Press)

QUITE CONTRARY: Former Rep. Mary Peltola , the Democratic Senate candidate in Alaska, is denying new reporting from The New York Times suggesting her campaign worked with national Democrats to recruit candidates — including Daniel J. Sullivan — to pull votes from incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska).

“The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. Like Mary, our campaign is focused on lowering costs and fixing the rigged system in DC. and did not recruit any candidates into the race,” Peltola’s campaign said in a statement to The Hill.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) also told The Hill it had “no involvement” in recruiting the other Sullivan, who has backed Peltola’s previous statewide campaigns but launched his Senate bid as a Republican before recently switching his party affiliation to “undeclared.”

The Times investigation cites 12 sources and references text messages and documents purporting to show Peltola campaign aides, campaign lawyers and staffers at the DSCC involved in an effort to recruit candidates to siphon off votes.

That practice, known as ballot “stacking,” is generally legal and has been used by both parties in Alaska, where there’s an unusual nonpartisan, top-four voting system.

The Times investigation did not establish criminal wrongdoing, but Trump responded to the reporting yesterday by accusing Democrats of committing perjury and demanding that both Peltola and the “FAKE Dan Sullivan” be removed from the ballot.

▪ The Hill : Alaska’s GOP-led government asks court to block DOJ Senate race certification lawsuit.

▪ The Hill : Republicans rip Peltola over Times report.

▪ The Hill Insider : Battlegrounds where ticket-splitting could make a difference.

WELCOME TO MIAMI : Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family landed in Miami on Wednesday after fleeing their home country following his election loss to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva .

The State Department extended visas to Bolsonaro and his family after Brazil’s Supreme Court tried to block Bolsonaro from leaving the country and ordered him to surrender his passports, since the former presidential candidate was under investigation for alleged financial crimes.

Trump said this week that he “would approve” of Bolsonaro coming to the U.S., calling the election “rigged.”

▪ The Hill : Embassy builder sues State Department for $461M.

▪ Reuters : Bolsonaro, from U.S., declares himself rightful president-elect of Brazil.

VOTING OPENS : A window is now open for members of the Cornell University Faculty Senate to vote on a motion of no confidence in President Michael Kotlikoff in light of the backlash to the university’s handling of an alleged gang rape of a student in 2024.

The 75-member body will have one week to vote on the motion, which wouldn’t remove Kotlikoff from office but mark a major rebuke of his administration.

Cornell has been facing widespread backlash around the country after a woman identified as Jane Doe filed a lawsuit alleging that seven members of a fraternity had raped her. No criminal charges were pursued against the accused, even as the woman said she reported the incident at the time.

She told the faculty senate in a letter earlier this month that she felt “unsupported and disbelieved” by Kotlikoff, who admitted he didn’t reach out to her after he learned of the alleged assault in 2024.

▪ The Hill : What to know as senate preps for no-confidence vote.

ELECTION STUNT : Conservative activist James O’Keefe and right-leaning commentator Cam Higby were charged Wednesday over a stunt they pulled during Minnesota’s primaries in August, in which they misrepresented themselves using registered voters’ names at polling places.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced O’Keefe and Higby are facing felony charges of unlawful voting and identity fraud.

O’Keefe and Higby donned what O’Keefe called “Muslim attire” during the state’s Aug. 11 primaries and spoke in fake accents at Minnesota polling places. They filmed their experience in an attempt to show weaknesses associated with a state law allowing Minnesotans to vouch for people who recently moved to an area if their address can’t be otherwise confirmed .

Moriarty said O’Keefe and Higby didn’t ultimately sign the oath confirming an address or cast a vote. She noted that vouching as a form of confirming eligibility is very rare, only accounting for 0.6 percent of votes cast in 2024.

▪ The Washington Post : The 180 people charged with voter fraud under Trump.

The president will travel to Rock Hill, S.C., to deliver remarks at 12:30 p.m. He will return to Washington to host Halloween at the White House with the first lady at 5:30 p.m. He will host telerallies at 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

The House will convene at noon for a pro forma session.

The Senate will meet at 2 p.m. for a pro forma session.

A screen displays a news conference by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Kevin Warsh on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Oct. 28, 2026, in New York. (Yuki Iwamura, Associated Press)

IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID: The final economic picture is taking shape in the last days of the campaign season, which has been dominated by concerns of rising inflation and high costs, especially as the Iran war has driven up oil and gas prices.

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady yesterday, a month after officials raised rates by a quarter point for the first time in more than three years. But economists and market analysts overwhelmingly expect more rate hikes on the horizon, with CME FedWatch putting chances of a rate hike at December’s meeting at 79.4 percent.

“The committee believes that the accumulation of more information will help it determine the policy stance appropriate to ensure a timely return of inflation to the 2 percent goal,” Fed Chair Kevin Warsh told reporters.

The latest inflation data offered little relief to Americans. The consumer price index showed prices rose 3.7 percent over the year that ended in September, up from 3.4 percent in August. More than half of that monthly increase was driven by gas prices, which rose 9.1 percent that month.

The Trump administration argues inflation has come down on some non-energy goods, and insists gas prices will drop as soon as the Iran war is finished, which the president has predicted could end right after the midterms.

Voters will get another round of economic data today at 8:30 a.m. EDT, when the Commerce Department releases its first estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) and the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect the economy to have grown at a 3.1 percent annual rate, up from 2.2 percent in the second quarter. But they also expect the personal consumption expenditures price index to show prices rising in September from 3.7 percent a year earlier, up from 3.4 percent in August.

▪ The Hill : Bond yields rise slightly ahead of interest rate decision.

▪ Reuters : Bank of Canada raises interest rate in first hike since 2023.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to his supporters at Likud party headquarters in Jerusalem after the release of the first exit poll results in Israel’s general election, Oct. 28, 2026. (Ohad Zwigenberg, Associated Press)

POST-ELECTION MORASS : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party are accusing Israel’s Arab political parties of fraud in the country’s elections as his bloc appears on track to finish first but fall short of a governing majority.

Netanyahu shared a statement from his party Wednesday, the day after Israel’s first parliamentary elections since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and the ensuing Gaza war, accusing the two main Arab parties of engaging in bribery, voter intimidation and forgery to influence the election results.

The two parties, the Joint List and Ra’am, had their best performance ever in an Israeli election, likely giving them significant influence as the work begins to form a governing coalition making up a majority of the Knesset’s 120 seats. The Arab parties are currently expected to win as many as 19 seats, based on the latest vote count.

Netanyahu’s bloc is expected to win about 53 seats, more than the opposition bloc, led by former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot . But that’s still not enough by itself to form a government.

The Hill’s Laura Kelly reports from Israel that Netanyahu’s fortunes changed Wednesday as his party and its coalition partners edged out Eisenkot’s group, but the prime minister still remains without a clear path to victory. That could leave the Arab parties as the kingmakers unless another deal is reached.

Likud said it is turning over hundreds of witness accounts and pieces of evidence to the Israeli police, the Central Elections Committee and the domestic security service, known as Shin Bet. The party didn’t publicly release evidence of what it collected.

With the election wrapping up, attention will shift to Israeli President Isaac Herzog , who is tasked with picking which party he believes can most likely form a governing coalition based on the results. Even though Likud won more seats than any other party, Herzog doesn’t have to choose it first.

▪ Reuters : Netanyahu set to remain caretaker leader.

▪ The Associated Press : Netanyahu, Eisenkot face choices that could redefine politics.

47 states allow early voting for all — what about the other three? Yvonne Renée Davis writes in The Hill.

Breast cancer prevention starts with knowing your risk , Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.) writes in The Hill.

A collection of photographs, candles and flowers adorn an altar in honor of Dolores Huerta at Old Town Plaza in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Oct. 28, 2026. (Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press)

And finally … It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for the weekly news quiz!

Dolores Huerta , the renowned labor organizer and civil rights icon, died yesterday at 96 years old. This week’s quiz will pay tribute to her life and legacy.

Be sure to email your responses to jgans@thehill.com — please add “Quiz” to your subject line.

What was Huerta’s profession before becoming a full-time organizer?

Which president credited Huerta with inspiring his campaign slogan?

Which civilian honor did Huerta receive in 2012?

Which state listed below celebrates Dolores Huerta Day?