Barack Obama returns to the political scene

Since leaving the White House, he has been discreet and has not directly clashed with his successor Donald Trump. But on Thursday, Barack Obama returns to the political arena for the first time, according to world media, reports the Patria agency.

The former Democratic president is expected tonight at two pre-election rallies, in New Jersey and then 500 kilometers further south in Virginia.

Obama will support his party's candidates in the gubernatorial elections at rallies in Newark and Richmond.

New Jersey and Virginia are electing new governors on November 7, exactly one year after Donald Trump's victory in the presidential elections.

- These are the only elections in America this year, and that's why they are important - said political science professor Larry Sabato.

- The stakes are high as momentum is being built for the 2018 midterm elections - he explained.

Next year, exactly in the middle of the presidential term, Americans will elect the entire House of Representatives and a third of the Senate.

It is not known what Obama will say at the two rallies tonight. Since leaving the White House on January 20, he has largely avoided political discussions, remaining faithful to the tradition that former presidents do not interfere in politics, despite Trump's efforts to dismantle his political legacy.

Obama spent the first three months on vacation, then began writing his memoirs, made few public appearances, and avoided interviews. On the few occasions he broke his silence, he did so on issues of national importance such as immigration, climate change, and health insurance.

The American public is interested in whether he will resist the temptation at these rallies to say what he thinks about Trump's policies.

In New Jersey, Democrats are facing a sure victory. The current Republican governor, Chris Christie, a friend of Trump, has seen his popularity hit rock bottom recently. Christie cannot run for a third term, but his unpopularity has dragged down other Republicans, so the party's candidate, Kim Guadagno, has almost no chance against Democrat Phil Murphy.

- Democrats will have no problems in New Jersey, so a real fight can only be expected in Virginia - adds Sabato, a professor at the University of Virginia.

Virginia is a state that is often "on the scale" and switches from one party camp to another. It is the only state in the historical American South that voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and the current governor is also a Democrat. In both cases, however, the victories were very narrow, so Republicans now see their chance to bring it back into their fold.

- If Republicans lose Virginia again, Trump will be largely held responsible for it. Of course, the reverse is also true - says Sabato.

On Thursday in Richmond, the capital of Virginia and once the capital of the Confederacy, Obama will support Democratic candidate Ralph Northam.

This former military doctor has a slight lead in the polls over Republican Ed Gillespie.

Aware of the importance of the elections in Virginia, Trump has fiercely attacked Northam, accusing him of supporting groups of Hispanic criminals by supporting shelters for illegal immigrants.

Ed Gillespie, a wealthy lobbyist and former advisor to George W. Bush, has so far maintained a cautious distance from the unpredictable Republican president, although Trump has officially endorsed him.