Detroit, Michigan CNN —
Former President Barack Obama on Tuesday night recalled the chaos and violence that former President Donald Trump caused in Detroit when he urged Michigan voters to rally behind Vice President Kamala Harris after the 2020 election. did.
“One of the most disturbing things about this election, and Trump’s rise in politics, is that for some reason, many of us, even the good people we know, suddenly suddenly realize the values we’ve been taught. “They seem to want to put aside their views,” he told the crowded convention. hole.
Speaking at Huntington Place, the same convention center where mail-in ballots were counted in 2020 when President Trump and his allies were questioning the state’s election results, President Obama said, As Trump tried to spread lies about voter fraud in Michigan, protesters descended, banged on windows and shouted, “Let them in! Stop the counting.” Poll workers inside have been threatened. ”
He cited special counsel Jack Smith’s filing, which was unsealed earlier this month, in which a Trump campaign aide told someone to “riot” when he was informed of escalating tensions at a Detroit tabulation center. He said in detail.
As President Obama explained the details of his application, the crowd began to boo and jeer, to which President Obama responded sternly, “Stop booing.” It was a familiar refrain, “Don’t boo, vote,” repeated, but the exchange became more pronounced as the crowd’s boos briefly grew louder, despite the former president’s determined pushback.
The Detroit trip was Harris’ fifth rally and fifth battleground state during the biggest campaign period since President Obama left office. He and Harris are scheduled to make their first joint appearance at a campaign event in Georgia on Thursday.
President Trump also held a rally at the Detroit Convention Center last Friday, encouraging Michigan voters to take advantage of the early voting process he questioned in 2020.
“I heard there was another rally here on Friday night, but it was a little bit bigger than this one,” Obama said to the audience, which occupied significantly more space in the venue than Trump’s audience a few days earlier. It was small,” he said.
The former Democratic president was introduced by Detroit rapper Eminem, whose harsh criticism of Trump at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards went viral. Although Eminem did not perform, President Obama briefly rapped the opening lyrics of his song “Lose Yourself.”
President Obama once again criticized President Trump for praising the accomplishments of “my economy,” citing the massive auto industry bailout he announced shortly after taking office as the city of Detroit was in trouble and automakers faced bankruptcy. He reminded the Detroit audience of his plan.
“I think people in Detroit remember that. I spent eight years cleaning up the mess that the Republicans left me. You all remember that the American auto industry was in decline. They didn’t try to help, but we made investments to reopen those factories and put people back to work,” he said at the time of leaving office, “for 75 consecutive months. Employment increased, and people said, “The economy was good because we worked.”
“I understand why people would want to shake things up. I understand that,” he said, adding, “There’s absolutely no evidence that this man is thinking about anyone other than himself, so why Donald Trump? “I don’t understand why anyone would think that would shake things up in their favor.”
The former president delivered a familiar tirade against Trump and defended Harris multiple times as she tried to justify her candidacy to a critical Michigan audience.
“When she was in college, she worked at McDonald’s to pay for her education,” President Obama said. “She didn’t pretend to be working when McDonald’s was closed.”
In addition, President Trump’s vice presidential candidate, Sen. J.D. Vance, criticized President Trump’s comment during the vice presidential debate that he had “taken back” the Affordable Care Act, saying, “President Donald Trump is “I spent my entire term trying to defeat that, and I couldn’t.” We haven’t even done that,” he said, mocking President Trump’s comment that he had a “vision of a plan” for health care.
Mr. Obama directly addressed men in and outside the audience, saying that Mr. Trump is not a symbol of strength. That never happened. True strength comes from showing up to the factory floor every day and working hard. True strength is taking responsibility for your actions and upholding your obligations. True strength lies in helping those who need it. ”
