Michelle Obama clashed with Donald Trump in a fiery speech in Michigan on Saturday, slamming the former president’s “gross incompetence” and “unethical character,” and calling out Kamala Harris to hesitant Americans. I appealed for him to be elected president.
“In every way, she has shown she is ready,” the former first lady told an enthusiastic audience in Kalamazoo. “The real question is: Are we as a country ready for this moment?”
With the election campaign virtually at a stalemate, Mr. Obama, who has been passive in his political activities, will “do something” to support the candidacy of Ms. Harris, who is seeking to become the country’s first female president, in a battleground region in the Midwest. He said he has taken his own advice to heart.
In raw and shockingly personal terms, she asked why Harris was being held to a “higher standard” than her opponent. Obama argued that Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his failed attempt to cling to power after losing the 2020 election should alone be disqualifying. But now those who worked closest to him when he was president, including his former advisers and ministers, have come forward and warned that he should not be allowed to return to power.
“Forgive me for being a little irritated that some people are choosing to ignore Donald Trump’s gross incompetence while Kamala dazzles us at every turn,” Obama said. he said. “Preach!” cried a woman.
The event in Kalamazoo, which Obama dubbed “Kamalazoo,” was Obama’s first appearance on the campaign trail since his impassioned speech at the Democratic National Convention in August. Addressing a primarily female audience, President Obama said voters should not choose Harris because she is a woman, but rather because “Kamala Harris is an adult, and we need an adult in the White House.” The Lord knows that.”
After Obama finished her speech, Beyoncé’s Freedom blared from the speakers and Harris took the stage. The crowd erupted as the women, the first black first lady and the first black vice president, embraced.
With 10 days remaining, Harris delivered her closing argument, vowing to be a president who listens to the voices of the American people, unlike her opponent, who accused her of “always looking in the mirror.”
“Imagine the Oval Office three months from now,” she said. “It’s either Donald Trump stews there with a list of enemies, or I work for you and check things off my to-do list.”
Before the event, Harris visited a local clinic in nearby Portage, where she spoke to health care providers and medical students about the impact of abortion regulations. Harris has made protecting what remains of “reproductive freedom” and abortion access a central theme of her campaign, and while claiming credit for her role in overturning Roe v. Wade, It is being used to draw a sharp contrast with Trump, who has insisted on allowing lawsuits of this scale. Prohibited as president.
In Kalamazoo, both Harris and Obama argued that Trump has no credibility on the issue. But President Obama went further, explaining the full spectrum of women’s reproductive health, from menstrual cramps to hot flashes, and calling for women to be seen as “more than just reproductive vessels.” She lamented the lack of research on women’s health and racial disparities in treatment. President Obama directed his comments to “the men who love us” and asked them to consider the harm caused when the government “continues to deprive women of basic care.”
Earlier this month, Barack Obama sent a stern message to black men during Harris’ first campaign to throw away their “excuses” and support her. Michelle Obama tried a different approach this election, asking American men to listen to women.
“From the bottom of my heart, I’m asking you to take our lives seriously,” President Obama said, his voice rising with emotion. “If you don’t get this election right, your wives, your daughters, your mothers, and all of us women will become collateral damage to your wrath.”
She argued that abortion bans also affect men. If something happens during pregnancy or childbirth and your doctor is no longer able to provide treatment, it’s up to you to pray that it’s not too late. You’ll be begging. And in the worst-case scenario, there’s a tragic but very real possibility that you’ll end up receiving flowers at a funeral,” she said.
Obama’s appeal reflected the large gender gap between the candidates, with women supporting Harris and men supporting Trump. She acknowledged the challenges facing the country and conceded that progress may be too slow, but insisted that absenteeism or voting third party was not the solution.
“We have too much to lose if we get this wrong,” she said.
Barack Obama is known as the party’s great speaker, and Michelle Obama remains one of the party’s most popular and effective speakers. President Obama, who once encouraged Democrats to “go high when you go low,” made no attempt Saturday to hide his disdain for the man who led a years-long campaign questioning her husband’s place of birth. Ta. President Trump also targeted Harris, the daughter of immigrants born in Oakland, California, in a racist birth conspiracy.
“In any other profession or field, Mr. Trump’s criminal history and immoral character would be embarrassing, shameful, and disqualifying,” she said.
The Harris campaign has cast Obama alongside major figures and celebrities such as Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen in addition to Barack Obama, hoping their star power will provide an 11th-hour shockwave to a quiet presidential campaign. did.
Harris and Trump were in Michigan on Saturday, following the state’s 15 electors.
Michigan is likely the next most important state for Democrats on the path to the White House, after Pennsylvania, where Harris will campaign on Sunday.
Trump, who was scheduled to spend part of Sunday attending a rally at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, won Pennsylvania in 2016, defeating three “blue wall” battleground states. But four years later, Michigan delivered Biden’s biggest victory in a battleground state, with Democrats sweeping the state in the 2022 midterm elections following the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
Polls show a dead heat. President Trump is seeking to further exacerbate divisions in the Democratic Party over the Biden administration’s handling of the Israeli wars in Gaza and Lebanon, with large numbers of Muslim and Arab American voters saying they cannot support Harris. Even in the state of Michigan, which is currently in the state of Michigan, the problem is becoming more serious. On Saturday, Trump took to the stage in Novi, Michigan, alongside Bill Bazzi, the first Muslim mayor of Dearborn Heights.
“We have never seen the kind of devastation we are seeing now,” Batsi said. “There was no war when President Trump was president.”
Harris’ campaign has made several outreach efforts to Arab communities, but tensions remain high, with little time to change direction and the risk of escalating tensions following Israel’s pre-dawn attack on Iran. At the event, Harris was interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters. “We have to end that war,” she replied, as the crowd drowned out the demonstration with chants of “Kamala.”
Democrats are focused on boosting turnout in Detroit, aggressively courting women, independents and anti-Trump Republicans in the suburbs, while President Trump (again) at an event in Novi on Saturday I insulted you. Her campaign recently secured the endorsement of Fred Upton, the state’s longtime Republican lawmaker who is retiring in 2022. Upton told the Detroit Free Press that although she had never supported a Democratic presidential candidate, she cast an absentee ballot for Harris this year. It’s just completely disorganized. We don’t need this mess. ”
Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, speaking before Harris, likened the presidential race to a high-stakes interview. Extending this analogy, he suggested checking out Trump’s references. The senator cited John Kelly, President Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, who recently said on the record that his former boss fits the definition of a fascist.
“Would you hire him?” Peters asked. “No!” the crowd roared.
