Former first lady Michelle Obama challenged people to support her Kamala Harris’ bid became America’s first female president, warned at a rally in Michigan that women’s lives will be at risk if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Obama described the attack about abortion rights as a harbinger of dangerous limitations in health for women. Some people may be tempted to vote for Trump out of anger at slow progress, Obama said, but “your anger doesn’t exist in a vacuum.”
“If we don’t get this right to vote, your wife, your daughter, your mother, we as women will be collateral damage to your anger,” Obama said. “So you are a man who is ready to look the women and children you love in the eye and tell them you support this attack for our safety?”
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At the rally in Kalamazoo it was Obama’s first appearance on the campaign trail since he spoke Democratic National Convention over the summer, and she spoke searingly and passionately in support of Harris.
“With every step, she has shown that she is ready,” the former first lady said. “The real question is, as a country, are we ready for this moment?”
Obama added, “Don’t buy the lie that we don’t know who Kamala is or what she stands for. This is someone who knows you, all of you.”
Although Obama has been a reluctant campaigner for years, he didn’t hesitate Saturday as his speech veered from the political to the personal. Obama said he fears for the country and struggles to understand why the presidential race remains so close.
“I lay awake at night wondering, ‘What in the world is going on?'” he said.
Her voice vibrating with emotion, Obama spoke about the struggle for women to understand and care for themselves, whether it’s during the menstrual cycle or menopause. And he talks about the dangers of childbirth, when a split-second decision can be the difference between life and death for mother and baby.
“I’m asking all of you from the core of my being to take life seriously,” Obama said.
Harris took the stage after Obama and promised the crowd that he would keep their interests in mind — unlike Trump, who he accused of only being interested in himself.
“There is a desire in our country for a president who looks at the people, not just looking in the mirror at all, but looking at the people, who get you and who will fight for you,” he said.
After the rally, Harris went to Trak Houz Bar & Grill with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, where they drank locally brewed beer.
“I want to have whatever they have,” Harris said.
Politicians chat and take photos with people at the bar. As they approached the young woman’s table, one of them began to cry.
Before arriving in Kalamazoo, Harris visited a local doctor’s office in Portage to talk with health care providers and medical students about the impact of the abortion ban. One said he had patients coming from other countries with strict restrictions on abortion, and another said he was concerned that people would not want to practice in the important field of medicine for fear of government interference.
“We’re seeing a health care crisis in America that’s affecting people of all backgrounds and genders,” Harris told reporters before visiting doctors’ offices.
Harris appeared with Beyoncé was in Houston, and he campaigned with former President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen was in Atlanta.
That’s a level of celebrity influence that surpasses anything Trump, the Republican nominee, has managed to achieve this year. But there’s no guarantee that will help Harris in a close race for the White House. In 2016, Hillary Clinton lost to Trump despite firing up the crowd with musical performances and Democratic allies.
Trump dismissed Harris’ attempts to use his star power for his campaign.
“Kamala was at a dance party with BeyoncĂ©,” the former president said Friday in Traverse City, Michigan. Trump held a rally in Novi, a suburb of Detroit, on Saturday before a later event in State College, Pennsylvania.
Saturday was the first day that in-person voting was available in Michigan. More than 1.4 million ballots have been submitted, representing 20% ​​of registered voters.
When Clinton ran against Trump, Michelle Obama inspired the Democrats with the slogan “when they go low, we go high.”
But this year, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, he took a more outrageous approach. He accused Trump of “peddling ugly, misogynistic, racist lies in lieu of real ideas and solutions that will make people’s lives better.”
While Harris was with Obama in Michigan, President Biden visited the International Labor Union of North America in Pittsburgh. He mentioned that Harris once walked the picket line with the United Auto Workers — “he’s got a spine like a ramrod” — while Trump was cracking down on organized labor.
“They see unions as a path to the accumulation of wealth for individuals,” Biden said. “It’s in the interest of labor to beat Donald Trump, more than any other race you run.”
Biden’s remarks to the largely male audience showed the gender divide that has been a consistent feature of this year’s presidential race.
Speaking of Trump, Biden said, “I’m just going to say it straight up, he’s a loser as a man.”
He also said that women deserve more opportunities than ever before.
“He can do anything anyone can do, including being president of the United States,” Biden said.
