KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Michelle Obama urged men to support Kamala Harris’ bid to become America’s first female president, warning at a rally in Michigan Saturday that women’s lives are in danger if Donald Trump returned to the White House.
The former first lady described the attack on abortion rights as a harbinger of hazardous restrictions on women’s health care. Some men might be tempted to vote for Trump because of their anger over the sluggish pace of progress, Obama said, but “their anger does not exist in a vacuum.”
“If we don’t get this election right, your wife, your daughter, your mother, we women will become collateral damage to your anger,” Obama said. “So, as men, are you ready to look the women and children you love in the eyes and tell them that you supported this attack on our security?”
The Kalamazoo rally was Obama’s first campaign appearance since her speech at the Democratic National Convention this summer, and her remarks were pointed and passionate in their support of Harris.
“She has shown in every way that she is ready,” the former first lady said. “The real question is, are we as a country ready for this moment?”
Obama added: “Don’t believe the lies that we don’t know who Kamala is or what she stands for. “This is someone who understands you all.”
Although Obama has been a reserved campaigner over the years, she showed no hesitation Saturday as her speech moved from the political to the personal. Obama said she fears for the country and has difficulty understanding why the presidential race remains so close.
“I lay awake at night wondering, ‘What the hell is going on here?'” she said.
With his voice vibrating with emotion, Obama spoke about the struggle for women to understand and care for their own bodies, be it their menstrual cycle or menopause. And she spoke about the dangers of childbirth, where a split-second decision can mean the difference between life and death for a mother and her baby.
“I ask all of you from the bottom of my heart to take our lives seriously,” Obama pleaded.
Harris took the stage after Obama and promised the crowd that she would have their interests in mind – unlike Trump, who she accused of only being interested in himself.
“There is a longing in our country for a president who sees the people, not just looks in the mirror all the time, but sees the people who understand you and will fight for you,” she said.
After the rally, Harris went with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to Trak Houz Bar & Grill, where they drank locally brewed beer.
“I want to have everything she has,” Harris said.
The politicians chatted and took photos with people at the bar. As they approached a table of newborn women, one of them burst into tears.
Before arriving in Kalamazoo, Harris visited a local doctor’s office in Portage to speak with health care providers and medical students about the impact of abortion restrictions. One of them said she had patients visiting from other parts of the country where there are strict restrictions on abortion, and another said she was concerned that people did not want to practice in key areas of medicine for fear of government interference.
“We are facing a health crisis in America that affects people of every background and gender,” Harris told reporters before heading to the doctor’s office.
Harris performed with Beyoncé in Houston on Friday and she campaigned in Atlanta on Thursday with former President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen.
It’s a level of prominence that surpasses anything Trump, the Republican nominee, has been able to achieve this year. But there’s no guarantee Harris will support in the close race for the White House. In 2016, Hillary Clinton lost to Trump despite wowing her audience with musical performances and Democratic allies.
Trump rejected Harris’ attempt to utilize celebrity power for her campaign.
“Kamala is at a dance party with Beyoncé,” the former president said Friday in Traverse City, Michigan. Trump held a rally in Novi, a Detroit suburb, on Saturday before a later event in State College, Pennsylvania.
Saturday is the first day early in-person voting is available across Michigan. More than 1.4 million ballots have already been cast, representing 20% of registered voters.
When Clinton ran against Trump, Michelle Obama inspired Democrats with the slogan “When they go low, we go high.”
But this year at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, she took a more biting approach. She accused Trump of “using ugly, misogynistic and racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that actually improve people’s lives.”
While Harris was in Michigan with Obama, President Joe Biden visited the Laborers’ International Union of North America in Pittsburgh. He mentioned that Harris once led a picket line with the United Auto Workers — “she has the backbone of a ramrod” — while Trump undermined organized labor.
“He views unions as an impediment to the accumulation of wealth for individuals,” Biden said. “It is in the interest of unions to defeat Donald Trump more than any other race you have run in.”
Biden’s remarks to the largely male audience highlighted the gender gap that has been a consistent feature of this year’s presidential campaign.
Biden said of Trump: “I’ll say it very clearly: As a man, he’s a loser.”
He also said women deserve more opportunities than they have received in the past.
“You can do anything that anyone can do, including the presidency of the United States of America,” Biden said.
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Madhani reported from Pittsburgh and Megerian reported from Washington.
