Michelle Obama makes fiery abortion pitch as Trump courts Muslim vote

Bernd Debusmann Jr - BBC News
Sun, October 27, 2024 

In her first appearance on the campaign trail alongside Vice-President Kamala Harris, former First Lady Michelle Obama urged Americans to cast their votes to protect the country from the "dangers" of Donald Trump.

In a fiery speech in Michigan - a key battleground state - Obama said the election was "too close" for her liking.

At another event in Michigan, Donald Trump vowed to breathe fresh life into the state's automotive industry and met with Arab-Americans he said could "turn the election".

Polls show the two locked in a tight race in Michigan, with Harris holding an extremely narrow lead 10 days before the 5 November election.

[Getty Images]

The state, with 15 electoral college votes, could lend a deciding edge to either candidate.

President Joe Biden won Michigan by a narrow margin of 2.78% in 2020 - about 150,000 votes - helping to propel him to the presidency.

In 2016, the state went to Trump by an even narrower margin of 0.23% against Hillary Clinton.

Speaking to a crowd of thousands at an events centre in Kalamazoo, Obama made repeated jabs at Trump, pointing to what she termed his "erratic behaviour" and "obvious mental decline".

The bulk of her speech, however, focused on a "genuine fear" of how a Trump administration could impact abortion rights, telling an enthusiastic crowd of voters that she believes a failure to elect Kamala Harris could have deadly consequences.

Many abortion rights advocates have raised concerns that abortion bans have threatened women's lives by denying them life-saving medical treatment.

She was denied an abortion in Texas - then she almost died

"I'm deeply concerned that so many people are buying into the lies of people who don't have our best interests at heart," Obama said, adding that "ugliness will touch all of our lives".

Harris largely echoed Obama's comments, and told young Generation Z voters she understands why they might be "impatient" for change.

"I want to tell you that I see you and I see your power," she said.

At his own rally in Novi, Michigan, Trump largely stuck to frequent campaign promises about immigration, energy and the economy.

He was also joined on stage by a number of Arab-American and Muslim community leaders, including Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi.

"We are supporting Donald Trump because he promised to end war in the Middle East and Ukraine," Mr Bazzi said. "The bloodshed has to stop all over the world, and I think this man can make it happen."

Trump said he believes that the Arab-American voters can "turn the election" one way or another.

The state is home to the 'Uncommitted' movement, which does not support Trump, but has refused to endorse Harris for what they see as a failure to take a more firm stance against Israel during the war in Gaza, such as committing to a weapons ban.

At the Democratic rally in Kalamazoo, however, some voters said they were much more preoccupied with abortion rights and perceptions that Trump is "undemocratic", than they were about conflicts abroad.

Kelly Landon, a resident of Canton, Michigan, said that her primary motivation in this election was allowing female relatives to be safe and be in charge of their bodies and their own futures."

Ms Landon said, in her view, other issues are secondary to the health and safety of women, as well as "their right to live the way they want to live".

National polling averages tracked by the BBC show Harris with a slight lead nationally, although with Trump narrowly ahead in five of the seven battleground states that could decide the election.

[BBC]

Michelle Obama: 'We are more than baby-making vessels'
DPA
Sun, October 27, 2024

Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks in support of Vice President Kamala Harris at a rally in Kalamazoo. Andrew Roth/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Former US first lady Michelle Obama warned that women's rights could be at risk if Donald Trump wins a second term in the White House.

Speaking at a campaign event in Michigan alongside Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, Obama said that women should not bear the consequences of frustrations from men who would vote for Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, out of disappointment with the political system or who might choose not to vote at all.

Obama urged voters to think about what's at stake, saying, "If we don't get this election right, your wife, your daughter, your mother, we as women will become collateral damage to your rage."



Obama spoke about how new restrictions are forcing some women to travel across state lines just to access basic medical care. "We are more than baby-making vessels," she said, stressing that women deserve control over their own bodies.

After the Supreme Court, with a conservative majority shaped by then-president Trump, overturned the nationwide right to abortion, restrictive requirements and even outright bans have emerged in parts of the US.

Democrats are campaigning to restore federal abortion rights, while Republicans want to leave the issue to individual states.

As one of the most admired figures in the US, Obama's involvement in the campaign could help sway undecided voters as the race enters its final stretch ahead of the November 5 election.

Millions of US citizens have already cast their ballots in early voting. Harris and Trump are in a dead heat, according to polls.




Michelle Obama Directs Powerful Remarks on Reproductive Rights Toward Men

Ashleigh Carter
Sun, October 27, 2024 

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Michelle Obama is pleading with the American men to consider the women in their lives when they vote in this election, delivering a strong message that a vote for Donald Trump will lead to less reproductive freedom than ever before.

The former first lady gave an impassioned campaign speech in support of Kamala Harris during a rally at the Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Saturday. Obama did not hold anything back as she told the crowd that she was a “little angry” that there are those who are hesitant to vote for Harris and instead seem to “ignore” Trump's “gross incompetence.”

“I hope that you will forgive me if I'm a little angry that we are indifferent to [Trump's] erratic behavior, his obvious mental decline, his history as a convicted felon, a known slum lord, a predator found liable for sexual abuse — all of this while we pick apart Kamala’s answers from interviews that he doesn't even have the courage to do, y’all,” Obama said.

She then directed her attention specifically to the men as she spoke about reproductive rights being stripped away state-by-state since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. Michigan, which does not have any strict ban on abortion, is an important swing state that is closely divided in the polls. Harris is currently polling at 49% in the state, compared to Trump's 46%.

“To the men who love us, let me just try to paint a picture of what it will feel like if America, the wealthiest nation on Earth, keeps revoking basic care from its women,” Obama said. “Your girlfriend could be the one in legal jeopardy if she needs a pill from out of state or overseas. Or if she has to travel across state lines because a local clinic closed up.”

She continued: “Your wife, or mother, could be the ones at higher risk of dying from undiagnosed cervical cancer because they have no access to regular gynecological care. Your daughter could be the one too terrified to call the doctor if she's bleeding during an unexpected pregnancy.”



Obama also mentioned a dangerous scenario caused by strict abortion bans that already had deadly consequences for one woman named Amber Thurman, who died in Atlanta, Georgia from preventable complications after she took the abortion pill. Thurman went to the Piedmont Henry Hospital for a routine procedure to clear out her uterus, but doctors could not treat her in time due to the state's strict anti-abortion laws.

“If your wife is shivering and bleeding on the operating room table during a routine delivery gone bad, her pressure dropping as she loses more and more blood, or some unforeseen infection spreads and her doctors aren’t sure if they can act, you will be the one praying that it’s not too late,” Obama continued. “You will be the one pleading for somebody, anybody, to do something.”

Obama reiterated that not just women will be affected by nationwide reproductive restrictions, but loved ones and more specifically, the men around them. “There is the tragic but very real possibility that in the worst-case scenario, you just might be the one holding flowers at the funeral. You might be the one left to raise your children alone.”

“I am asking y'all from the core of my being to take our lives seriously, please. Do not put our lives in the hands of politicians. Mostly men, who have no clue or do not care about what we as women are going through."

The Harris campaign has largely focused on reproductive rights over the last several months, including at a Houston rally on Friday night with a public endorsement and speech from Beyoncé. While Texas is likely to turn red this election, as it has for decades, the state has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country. Harris used the near-total ban as an example of what could happen nationwide if Trump were to be elected president.

“And though we are in Texas tonight, for anyone watching from another state, if you think you are protected from Trump abortion bans because you live in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New York, California, or any state where voters or legislators have protected reproductive freedom, please know: No one is protected,” Harris said.

Watch Michelle Obama's full speech here:

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue