KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) – Michelle Obama warned at a rally in Michigan on Saturday that women’s lives will be at risk if Donald Trump returns to the White House, making him the nation’s first female president. He appealed to men to support Kamala Harris’ candidacy.
Watch the event live in the player above.
The former first lady described attacks on abortion rights as a harbinger of dangerous restrictions on women’s health care. While some men may be tempted to vote for Trump out of anger at the slow pace of progress, “your anger doesn’t exist in a vacuum,” Obama said.
“If you don’t get this election right, your wives, your daughters, your mothers, and all of us women will be the targets of your wrath,” Obama said. “So, are you, as men, ready to look into the eyes of the women and children you love and tell them that you supported this attack on our safety?”
The rally in Kalamazoo was Obama’s first appearance on the campaign trail since speaking at the Democratic National Convention in the summer, and her remarks were scathing and passionate in support of Harris.
“In every way, she has shown she is ready,” the former first lady said. “The real question is: Are we as a country ready for this moment?”
WATCH: How Harris and Trump are trying to appeal to voters in battleground state Michigan
President Obama added, “Don’t believe the lie that we don’t know who Kamala is or what she represents. This person understands all of you.”
Mr. Obama has long been a reluctant campaigner, but he showed no hesitation in his speech on Saturday, which ranged from the political to the personal. Mr. Obama said he was concerned about the country and struggled to understand why the presidential race remained so close.
“I would lie awake at night thinking, ‘What the hell is going on?'” she said.
In a voice shaking with emotion, President Obama spoke about the struggles women have to understand and care for their bodies, including the menstrual cycle and menopause. She spoke about the dangers of childbirth, where split-second decisions can mean the difference between life and death for mother and baby.
“From the bottom of my heart, I ask you to take our lives seriously,” President Obama urged.
Harris took to the stage after Obama and assured the audience that she would keep their interests in mind, unlike Trump, who she accused of only being interested in herself.
“In our country, there is a yearning for a president who can always look in the mirror, but also look at the people and understand who’s going to get you and who’s going to fight for you,” she said.
The rally in Kalamazoo came after Harris visited a local clinic in Portage and spoke with health care providers and medical students about the impact of abortion regulations. One of them said patients were coming from other parts of the country where abortions are severely restricted, and another said people were seeking care in critical medical areas for fear of government intervention. He said he was worried that he would no longer be able to afford it.
“We are witnessing a health care crisis in America that is affecting people of all backgrounds and genders,” Harris told reporters before visiting the doctor’s office.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden visited a union hall in Pittsburgh to tout Harris’ support for organized labor, telling the audience to “follow your gut” and “do the right thing.”
Harris appeared in Houston with Beyoncé on Friday and campaigned in Atlanta with former President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen on Thursday.
That’s a level of celebrity influence that exceeds what Republican candidate Donald Trump was able to garner this year. But there’s no guarantee it will help Harris in a close race for the White House. In 2016, Hillary Clinton lost to Trump despite electrifying the audience with her musical performance and Democratic allies.
Mr. Trump dismissed Ms. Harris’ attempts to use star power in her campaign.
“Kamala is at a dance party with Beyoncé,” the former president said Friday in Traverse City, Michigan. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, was scheduled to hold a rally in the Detroit suburb of Novi on Saturday, followed by an event in State College, Pennsylvania.
WATCH: President Trump slams Detroit again as he appeals for votes in Novi, Michigan
Saturday is the first day early voting is available across Michigan. More than 1.4 million ballots have already been submitted, representing 20% of registered voters.
When Clinton was running against Trump, Michelle Obama encouraged Democrats with the slogan, “When Democrats go low, we go high.”
But this year, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, she took a more caustic approach. She accused President Trump of “piling on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies instead of real ideas and solutions that actually improve people’s lives.”
At a campaign event in Pittsburgh, Biden met with the North American Workers International Federation. He said that while President Trump has undermined organized labor, Harris, who once walked picket lines with the United Auto Workers, said: “She has the backbone of a ramrod.” said.
“I think unions are an impediment to the accumulation of personal wealth,” Biden said. “More than any other race we’ve been in, it’s in Labor’s interest to defeat Donald Trump.”
Biden’s remarks to a mostly male audience addressed the gender disparity that has been a consistent feature of this year’s presidential race.
“Let me be clear: He is a loser as a man,” Biden said of Trump.
She also said women should be given more opportunities than ever before.
“They can do anything any human being can do, including become president of the United States,” Biden said.
Mr. Madani reported from Pittsburgh and Mr. Megerian from Washington.
