The Democratic Party is looking to use the former President to draw focus to what they see as the current President’s “threat to democracy”. It is rare indeed for a former President to slam Trump and criticize a sitting President, but it has certainly happened before in the America’s long history of electoral shenanigans. From Democracy Now!:

Former President Barack Obama has slammed President Trump, calling him a “threat to democracy” who capitalizes on “politics of fear and resentment.” President Obama’s speech at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was the kickoff to a 2-month campaign effort ahead of November’s midterm elections. This is former President Obama speaking Friday.

Barack Obama: “So, Democrats aren’t just running on good old ideas like a higher minimum wage. They’re running on good new ideas, like Medicare for all, giving workers seats on corporate boards, reversing the most egregious corporate tax cuts to make sure college students graduate debt-free.”

You can watch Obama’s full speech here. The video is about 70 minutes. Take a look: