Michelle Obama delivers strong closing message for Harris in Michigan

Former First Lady Michelle Obama gave a strong speech contrasting Kamala Harris with former President Donald Trump at a rally in Michigan.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Michelle Obama didn’t mince words.

The former first lady hit the campaign trail Saturday, opening for Vice President Kamala Harris in Kalamazoo on the first day of early voting in Michigan, where the Democratic presidential nominee is deadlocked with Trump. During the appearance, Obama warned of a second term for Trump.

“I hope you’ll forgive me if I’m a little frustrated that some of us choose to ignore the gross incompetence of Donald Trump while asking Kamala to dazzle us at every turn,” Obama said. “We expect her to be intelligent and articulate, to have a clear set of policies, to never show too much anger, to prove once again that she belongs. But for Trump, we don’t expect anything, no political understanding. , without the ability to put together a coherent argument, without honesty, without decency, without morality.”

Obama’s terse remarks in support of Harris were the strongest of any Democratic figure, including her husband, who campaigned for the incumbent vice president, as Harris makes his closing argument against Trump.

“This is someone who understands you”

Harris has targeted Detroit with her campaign efforts and organized an event with former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney aimed at winning over anti-Trump Republicans in a suburb of the city earlier in the week.

On Saturday, she and Obama went after a very different crowd: apathetic voters who say they don’t know enough about Harris or her background.

“Michigan, don’t buy into the lie that we don’t know who Kamala is or what she stands for,” Obama said. “This is someone who understands you all, someone from a middle-class family, raised mostly by her mother.”

Obama gave a prime-time speech at the Democratic National Convention, but hasn’t spoken at a campaign rally in nearly eight years. “I haven’t done this in a long time,” Obama said as he warmed up.

Trump won in 2016, she said, because he got a pass. “Let’s not forget how badly it worked out for all of us.”

Harris fills arenas, puts himself out there and faces his critics, Obama said.

“Unlike her opponent, she doesn’t shy away from interviews or cower in safe spaces with only kind audiences,” she added. — No, she shows us what a healthy, stable leader looks like.

The former first lady touched on a message Harris delivered in the final days of the race about Trump’s fitness for office. Harris, in his speech, criticized Trump as confused, unstable and increasingly disturbed.

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Michelle Obama on Trump: ‘Remember how unprepared he was’

Before the rally began, attendees said Harris’ argument had worked. They listed democracy and, to a lesser extent, the economy and abortion rights as the most important issue in the election.

“Democracy. We have to keep it,” said Mike Simmons, 44, a Kalamazoo resident who works in manufacturing. “I don’t think it survives if we lose this election, frankly.”

In his speech, Obama tried to remind voters why Trump was voted out of office. She sought to deflate the positive feelings some voters had about the financial situation when he was in office, saying that when the pandemic hit, he didn’t know how to navigate the crisis.

“Remember how appallingly unprepared he was, how he sowed seeds of fear and confusion, endangered lives with his lies and ignorance, denigrated the doctors and scientists who were trying to help us,” she said. “You want to talk about plans? Well, my husband left him a very detailed pandemic plan and you know what he did? He ignored it.”

Obama made a special plea to women to run for office, especially those living in households where they are ignored and undervalued. He told them your vote was a “private matter”.

“Regardless of your partner’s political views, you can choose. You can use your judgment,” she said. “Remember, women who stand up for what’s best for us can make a difference in this election.”

Messages recorded on the inside of stalls in the arena’s women’s restrooms led to her point. “WOMAN TO WOMAN,” they read in all caps, “NO ONE will see your vote at the polls.” They included a QR code that led to the home page of the non-partisan, nonprofit organization Vote.org.

Kamala’s Silent Voter

Portage, Michigan resident Sheri Millard, 62, pointed to the sticky notes in the stalls.

“I think there’s a lot of people who are for Kamala who aren’t willing to say that,” Millard said.

Millard predicted that women would turn out for Harris in large numbers at the polls and might vote for her without telling their husbands.

Obama spoke extensively about reproductive health in her speech, with her sharpest remarks directed at men. She explained, in gruesome detail, what could happen to the women in their lives if they lost access to reproductive health care, and warned them of the impact abortion restrictions could have on their sons.

“I don’t want to be meaner, yeah,” she said at one point. She implored them minutes later not to let their frustration at the lack of progress in society keep them from voting for Harris.

In a piece from their location, the voters wore shirts that they received at “Kamalazoo”. Obama sent the crowd roaring when she referred to the largely Democratic city by changing it in her introduction to Harris’ first name.

“I know you mean Kamalazoo, I heard you,” Harris later told a constituent at the start of her remarks.

The vice president’s speech largely focused on highlighting the differences between her platform and Trump’s.

As he has done at previous rallies, Harris told a supporter who interrupted him with a message about Trump’s criminal convictions that the matter would be up to the courts.

Harris was also interrupted midway through her statement by a pro-Palestinian protester.

“On Gaza, we have to end the war,” Harris said. “We must end the war and bring the hostages home. But now, I’m talking about 2024″.

Harris returned to her message of turning the page on Trump.

Contributing: Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY