Michelle Obama says Kamala Harris is ‘ready to be president’

Michelle Obama issued a harsh condemnation of Donald Trump and urged voters to support Kamala Harris as the first female president of the United States.

“She showed that she was ready in every way,” the former first lady said at a rally in Michigan. “The real question is: Are we ready for this moment as a country?”

This was Mrs. Obama’s first appearance on the campaign trail since speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago over the summer, and her words were powerful and passionate.

He said he was afraid for his country and had a hard time understanding why the presidential race was approaching.

“At night I wonder, ‘What’s going on in the world?’ “I was lying awake thinking,” he said.

Mrs. Obama, her voice shaking with emotion, warned that Mr. Trump’s potential return to the White House would harm women’s health and reproductive freedom.

“I ask all of you from the core of my being to take our lives seriously,” he said.

The rally in Kalamazoo followed Ms. Harris’s visit to a local doctor’s office in Portage to talk to health care providers and medical students about the effects of abortion restrictions.

One of them said she had patients from other parts of the country where there were strict restrictions on abortion, while another said she was concerned people would not want to work in important areas of medicine due to fear of government interference.

“We are facing a health crisis in America that affects people of all backgrounds and genders,” Ms. Harris told reporters before visiting the doctor’s office.

President Joe Biden, meanwhile, went to a union hall in Pittsburgh to promote Ms. Harris’ support for organized labor, telling the audience to “listen to your gut” and “do the right thing.”

Ms. Harris appeared with Beyonce in Houston on Friday and campaigned with former president Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen in Atlanta on Thursday.

That’s a level of celebrity clout that surpasses anything Republican candidate Donald Trump has been able to achieve this year, but there’s no guarantee it will help Ms. Harris in the close race for the White House.

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

As Mrs. Clinton ran against Mr. Trump, Mrs. Obama inspired Democrats with the slogan “when they fall, we rise.”

But this year at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, he took a tougher approach.

He accused Mr. Trump of “doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies in place of real ideas and solutions that will actually make people’s lives better.”

At a campaign event in Pittsburgh, Mr. Biden addressed the International Labor Union of North America. He noted that Ms. Harris once walked the picket line with the United Auto Workers — “she has a backbone like a ramrod” — while Mr. Trump undermined organized labor.

“He views unions as obstacles to the accumulation of wealth by individuals,” Mr. Biden said. “Defeating Donald Trump is in the interest of working people, more than any other race you’ve been in.”

Mr. Biden’s remarks to the mostly male audience referenced the gender divide that has been a consistent feature of this year’s presidential race.

Speaking of Mr Trump, Mr Biden said: “I tell you the truth, he is pathetic as a man.”

She also said women deserve more opportunities than they have received in the past.

“They can do anything any human being can do, including being president of the United States,” Mr. Biden said.