Former President Donald Trump has been targeting former President Barack Obama in his 2024 campaign speeches. 

Trump has been doing this to such an extent, according to U.S. News, that, if you didn't know better, you might be tricked into thinking that Trump will be facing off against Obama in 2024 rather than President Joe Biden.

The outlet reports that Trump "frequently brings up former President Barack Obama in speeches – even suggesting that he beat Obama in 2016 and claiming that Obama is really running the show at the White House now occupied by his former vice president."

Trump may have some good reasons for doing so.

Some recent examples

After taking some cheap shots at Trump - including that Trump's motivation in targeting Obama is "racism" - author Susan Milligan highlights some recent campaign speeches in which Trump took aim at Obama.

One example is from Trump's recent campaign stop in New Hampshire. There, speaking about Hungarian President Viktor Orban, Trump said:

They were interviewing [Orban] two weeks ago, and they said: "What would you advise President Obama? The whole world seems to be exploding and imploding." And, he said: "It's very simple. He should immediately resign and they should replace him with President Trump, who kept the world safe."

Of course, Biden is president, not Obama.

Then, Milligan brings up another campaign event from an Iowa rally that took place in October. There, Trump said, "With Obama, we won an election that everyone said couldn't be won."

Obviously, Trump is referring to the 2016 presidential election, in which he beat Hillary Clinton, not Obama. It was not the first time that Trump made this "mistake."

Background

The above examples are far from the only ones of their kind. Trump, on numerous occasions, has claimed that Obama - not Biden - is the one who is currently running the U.S. government.

U.S. News suggests that this is some kind of crazy conspiracy theory, and Milligan offers up absurd reasons why it is that Trump is so focused on Obama. But, perhaps, there is some truth to what Trump is saying.

NBC News, for example, just recently reported:

Former President Barack Obama quietly advised the White House over the past five months on its strategy to address artificial intelligence, engaging behind the scenes with tech companies and holding Zoom meetings with top West Wing aides at President Joe Biden’s request, according to aides to both men.

If Obama has been doing all of this "behind the scenes," one has to wonder what else he has been up to "behind the scenes." Let's not forget that Biden stacked his administration with Obama personnel.

Let's also not forget what Obama once said:

If I could make an arrangement where I had a stand-in, a front man or front woman, and they had an earpiece in and I was just in my basement in my sweats looking through the stuff, and then I could sort of deliver the lines, but somebody else was doing all the talking and ceremony, I'd be fine with that.