FORMER US President Barack Obama has claimed responsibility for the booming US economy as he labelled his successor Donald Trump a “demagogue”.

Mr Obama told a crowd of thousands in Cleveland, Ohio, that they needed to vote in the US midterm elections, saying the consequences of sitting on the sidelines “are far more dangerous” than in the past.

Without mentioning Republican President Donald Trump by name, Mr Obama said, “This is not normal what we’re seeing. It is radical.”

He said a continuation of Republican control in Washington would threaten Medicaid, affordable health care, even democracy.

“On November 6th, we have a chance to restore some sanity to our politics,” Mr Obama said. “We can flip the balance of power back to the American people. Because you are the only check on bad policy, you are the only real check on abuses of power. It’s you and your vote.” Mr Obama was in closely divided Ohio to campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Cordray, running mate Betty Sutton, US Senator Sherrod Brown and the party’s statewide slate.

Mr Obama slammed Mr Trump’s economic policy and speaking of the strong economy he said “just remember where it started”.

He emphasised how important it was to get out and vote.

“Some things are complicated, when I was president I was confident the American people wanted the truth,” he said. “When there’s a vacuum in our democracy, when we don’t vote, when we take our basic rights for granted — other voices fill the void and demagogues who promise simple fixes to complicated problems.’

Mandi Merritt, Ohio spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, hit back at Mr Obama.

“2016 is over, but President Obama continues to dismiss the millions of voters across Ohio who rejected a continuation of his policies in favour of President Trump’s plan for historic tax cuts, new jobs and soaring economic growth,” she said. “Richard Cordray, Obama’s former regulator-in-chief, would just be more of the same of the outdated Obama-era policies that hurt Ohio families.”