Michelle Obama addressed American voters, especially American men, on Saturday with a searingly intimate depiction of women’s bodies, reproductive health, and what she described as a life-or-death stakes for the returning former president. made a passionate appeal. Donald J. Trump comes to power.
Mrs. Obama, who has long been reluctant to engage in the political arena, appeared on the campaign trail for the first time during this campaign, discussing the far-reaching implications of a 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion. , explained in personal, concrete terms. tragedy.
“My wife might be shaking and bleeding on the operating table during a normal birth, or her blood pressure might drop due to increased blood loss, or an unexpected infection might spread and doctors weren’t sure if they could handle it. If you do, you will. Pray that it’s not too late,” Mrs. Obama said. “You will be the one begging someone to do something for you.”
And while she acknowledged the anger many Americans feel about the country’s “slow pace of change,” she warned: It will be collateral damage of your anger. ”
Mrs. Obama’s words at a Michigan rally introducing Vice President Kamala Harris put women’s bodies and their private experiences unusually front and center in an American presidential campaign. She talked about menstrual cramps and hot flashes, and the shame and anxiety girls and women feel about their bodies. She said women should demand to be treated as more than “vessels for making babies.”
And she held Ms. Harris to a higher standard than her opponent, criticizing the media and many others who have “chosen to ignore Mr. Donald Trump’s gross incompetence while letting Ms. Kamala dazzle us at every turn.” voters.
“We expect her to be intelligent and articulate, to have clear policies, never to show too much anger, and to prove herself worthy time and time again,” Mrs. Obama said. said. “But we don’t expect anything from Mr. Trump. We don’t expect any understanding of policy, we don’t expect the ability to put together a coherent argument, we don’t expect anything from him. We don’t expect anything from him. We don’t expect anything from him. We don’t expect anything from him. We don’t expect anything from him. We don’t expect anything from him. We don’t expect anything from him, not his understanding of policy, not his ability to put together a coherent argument, not his integrity, not his decency, not his morals.”
The crowd roared in approval.
But it was her remarks on women’s health that most captivated the audience. Mrs. Obama told the audience that Mr. Trump would further damage women’s health care, while Ms. Harris vowed to enshrine Roe v. Wade’s protections into federal law.
Mrs. Obama said these protections go far beyond the right to abortion and extend to the private and important relationships women and girls have with their doctors.
Mrs. Obama’s message was in part a rebuttal to claims made earlier this month by her husband, former President Barack Obama, in which he harshly suggested to black men that sexism was preventing women from voting. Perhaps Mrs. Obama seemed to be saying that she might be able to persuade men to vote for the women in their lives.
“From the bottom of my heart, I ask everyone to take our lives seriously,” she said.
With the election just 10 days away, Harris faces an electorate sharply divided by gender. The majority of women support her. The majority of men support Trump. Her joint appearance with Mrs. Obama in Michigan appears to have been intended both to energize her female supporters and to help men understand what is at stake.
Polls in the state show that the race is essentially even, as in other battleground states and across the country, although a victory is almost certain to win the White House. There is. President Biden won Michigan in 2020 with strong support from Black voters, Arab Americans, and Muslims. However, Harris has low approval ratings among black voters, especially men, and many Arab Americans and Muslims say they will not vote for her because of the Biden administration’s support for Israel in the Gaza war. There is. (At one point Saturday, Ms. Harris was interrupted by a man in the crowd yelling, “No more war on Gaza.”)
Harris’ campaign has sought to rally support from other voters, especially moderate suburban women who have expressed dissatisfaction with Trump. Kalamazoo County, where Mr. Obama and Mrs. Obama met on Saturday, is a predominantly white county in southwestern Michigan that chose former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley over Mr. Trump in the state’s Republican primary. There are many voters.
Speaking after Mrs. Obama on Saturday, Ms. Harris delivered what has become her standard political pitch: reaching across the aisle to women concerned about abortion rights and safety. Ta.
“We see women jumping across state lines to get the care they need,” Harris said. “Do you think Donald Trump is thinking about the impact on the millions of women who will be living in medical deserts?”
Mrs. Obama articulated these stakes in a way rarely discussed in national campaigning.
“We want men in the arena to stand with us on this, because there is more at stake than protecting women’s reproductive choices,” she said. “Unfortunately, we as women and girls are not in a society where we can openly talk about our reproductive health. Instead, we are taught to feel shame and hide how our bodies work. Ta.”
Young girls may not know what will happen during adolescence. “Women my age don’t know what happens after menopause,” she pointed out. Now, she said, they face an erosion of health care options in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision on abortion.
“Look, women’s bodies are complicated, folks,” Mrs. Obama said, drawing laughter. As she spoke, we heard nods of agreement and spells of “yes” from around the room.
“And in those scary moments when something goes wrong, as it happens to the vast majority of women in this country at some point, I’ll tell you, it feels like the floor falls out from under you,” she said. . “In such moments, all we have to rely on is our health care system. In such dark moments, all we have to rely on is faith in a higher power and the ability to provide the necessary care in a timely manner.” Only the doctor’s experience can help.”
“And no man can fully understand how vulnerable this makes us feel and the complexity of the reproductive health experience,” she says.
Mr. Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August, but has not campaigned for Ms. Harris since then. She has long expressed her distaste for campaigning, saying on Saturday, “You all know I hate politics.”
But she remains one of the most popular and cohesive figures within the Democratic Party.
In many ways, the joint appearance with Ms. Harris was emblematic of the very generational and cultural changes the vice president has sought to highlight in her fierce campaign to defeat Mr. Trump.
After Mr. Harris finished speaking, Mrs. Obama strode back to the stage. The country’s first black first lady hugged her first black vice president tightly as the crowd looked on.
Erica L. Green contributed reporting.
