Michelle Obama: Women’s safety will be at risk if Donald Trump returns to the White House

Michelle Obama has urged men to support Kamala Harris’ candidacy to become America’s first female president, warning that women’s lives will be at risk if Donald Trump returns to the White House.

During a Saturday rally in Michigan, the former first lady described the attack on abortion rights as a harbinger of dangerous restrictions on women’s health care.

Some men may be tempted to vote for Trump because of their anger at the slow pace of progress, Mrs. Obama said, but “your anger does not exist in a vacuum.”

Appearing alongside Ms. Harris, she warned: “If we don’t make the right choices, your wife, your daughter, your mother and we women will become collateral damage of your anger.

“So as men, are you willing to look the women and children you love in the eye and tell them you support this attack on our security?”

The rally in Kalamazoo was Ms. Obama’s first appearance on the campaign trail since she spoke at the Democratic National Convention in the summer, and her remarks were insightful and passionate, reiterating her support for Ms. 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?

“Don’t be fooled by the lies that we don’t know who Kamala is and what she represents. He is someone who understands all of you.”

Although Mrs. Obama has been a reluctant activist for years, she didn’t waver on Saturday as her speech ranged from the political to the personal.

She said she fears for the country and struggles to understand why the presidential race is so close.

“I lay awake at night wondering, ‘What the hell is going on?'” she said.

With a voice vibrating with emotion, Mrs. Obama talked about women’s struggles to understand and care for their bodies, whether it’s menstrual cycles or menopause. She spoke about the dangers of childbirth, when a split-second decision can mean the difference between life and death for the mother and her baby.

“I am asking you all from the bottom of my heart to take our lives seriously,” Mrs. Obama pleaded.

Ms. Harris then took the stage and promised the audience that she would have their interests in mind – unlike Trump, whom she accused of only being interested in himself.

“Our country longs for a president who sees people, and not just looks in the mirror all the time, but sees people who will get you and who will fight for you,” she said.

The high-profile rally came after Harris appeared with Beyonce on Friday in Houston and campaigned with former President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen on Thursday in Atlanta.

This is a level of celebrity influence that dwarfs anything achieved by Trump, the Republican Party nominee, this year. However, there is no guarantee that she will help Ms. Harris in the close race for the White House. In 2016, Hillary Clinton lost to Trump despite whipping up crowds with musical performances and Democratic allies.

Trump downplayed his rival’s attempt to use star power for his campaign.

“Kamala is at the dance party with Beyonce,” the former president said Friday in Traverse City, Michigan. On Saturday, he held a rally in Novi, a suburb of Detroit, before a later event in State College, Pennsylvania.

Saturday is the first day early in-person voting became available across Michigan. More than 1.4 million ballots have already been cast, representing 20% ​​of registered voters.

While Ms. Harris was with Ms. Obama in Michigan, President Joe Biden visited the Laborers International Union of North America in Pittsburgh. He mentioned that Ms. Harris once took part in a United Auto Workers picket — “she has a backbone like a ramrod,” he said — while Mr. Trump was undermining organized union power.

“He sees unions as an obstacle to individual wealth accumulation,” Biden said. “It is in the interest of the Labor Party to defeat Donald Trump, more than in any other race you have been in.”

Biden’s remarks, addressed mainly to a male audience, referred to the gender divide, which has been a constant feature of this year’s presidential campaign.

Commenting on Trump, the president added: “Let me tell you right now: he is a loser as a man.”