‘Let me warn you’: Michelle Obama comes out swinging against Trump

Washington: She’s the reluctant campaigner who also happens to be the most popular figure in the Democratic Party.

But with just over a week until election day – and polls suggesting the race remains extremely close – former first lady Michelle Obama made her first appearance on the campaign trail to launch a searing takedown of Donald Trump and appeal to undecided voters who are thinking of sitting out the election or voting for a third party.

Former first lady Michelle Obama (left) and Kamala Harris at a campaign rally in Michigan on Saturday.Credit: AP

In a blistering speech reminiscent of her Democratic National Convention address in August, Obama warned about the dangers of a second Trump term and expressed her frustration that Vice President Kamala Harris was being held to a higher standard than her rival, a “convicted felon” whose presidency was underpinned by “corruption” and “incompetence”.

Questioning why the race was even close – something she acknowledged kept her awake at night – the former first lady said of Harris: “We expect her to be intelligent and articulate, to have a clear set of policies, to never show too much anger, to prove time and a time again that she belongs. But for Trump, we expect nothing at all. No understanding of policy, no ability to put together a coherent argument, no honesty, no decency, no morals.

“Instead, too many people are willing to write off his childish, mean-spirited antics by saying, ‘Well, that’s just Trump being Trump’. So I hope you’ll forgive me if I’m a little frustrated that some of us are choosing to ignore Donald Trump’s gross incompetence, while asking Kamala to dazzle us at every turn.”

Obama’s appearance took place in Michigan, a state that Democrats are at risk of losing largely due to outrage over the war in Gaza. Trump won Michigan against Hillary Clinton in 2016, but Joe Biden reclaimed it in 2020.

Vice President Kamala Harris greets supporters after the campaign rally in Michigan.Credit: AP

However, the state is home to one of the country’s biggest Arab-American communities, and many residents have relatives who have been affected by Israel’s actions in the Middle East, or in some cases, killed.

“It’s been 54 weeks since the [Gaza] war started and all we hear is ‘ceasefire’, but nothing has been done,” said Dearborn restaurant owner Sam Hammoud, whose father’s condominium in Lebanon was recently struck by Israel as it attacked Hezbollah.

Trump also spent part of the day in Michigan courting Arab-American voters, declaring at a rally in the Detroit suburb of Novi that “they could turn the election one way or the other”.

While Michelle Obama did not specifically mention the war, she acknowledged “there are a lot of angry, disillusioned people out there, upset with the slow pace of change, and I get it – it is reasonable to be frustrated”.

“We all know we have a lot more work to do in this country,” she said, “but to anyone out there thinking about sitting out this election or voting for Donald Trump or a third-party candidate in protest because you’re fed up, let me warn you, your rage does not exist in a vacuum. 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’s appearance came a day after singer Beyoncé campaigned alongside Harris in Texas, in a rally designed to throw the spotlight on the severe abortion restrictions in that state and across the US.

The night before, former president Barack Obama appeared at another star-studded rally in Georgia, with figures such as Bruce Springsteen, Samuel L. Jackson and Spike Lee.

Michelle Obama, however, is seen as a popular figure to the masses, and arguably the person best placed to not only motivate Democrats, but also appeal to disengaged Americans more broadly.

In the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate in June, for instance, a Reuters/Ipsos poll asked Americans which Democrat they would vote for in a hypothetical match-up against Trump.

Michelle Obama was the only candidate who could resoundingly beat him, according to the poll, with 50 per cent of voters saying they would vote for her, compared with 39 per cent for Trump.

All the other hypothetical candidates performed similarly or worse than Biden did against Trump. That list included Harris, who, according to the poll, hypothetically won 42 per cent of registered voters to Trump’s 43 per cent.

Obama’s Michigan rally on Saturday was in the regional city of Kalamazoo, which Biden narrowly secured in 2020. The former first lady has always been open about her disdain for Trump, who perpetuated the racist “birther” conspiracies against her husband when he was president.

Harris and Michelle Obama ham it up in Kamalazoo.Credit: AP

After walking on stage to Beyoncé’s Freedom, Obama said: “Well, let me just start by saying hello, Kalamazoo! Or should I say Kamala-zoo?”

“Y’all know I hate politics,” she added, but “I wanted to do everything in my power to remind the country that I love that there is too much we stand to lose if we get this one wrong.”

In her fiery address, she also highlighted the issue of reproductive rights, specifically talking to “the men in our lives” about the dangers of “what could happen if we keep dismantling parts of our reproductive care system piece by piece, as Trump intends to do”.

And she addressed conservative women who might be considering voting for Harris but were worried about a backlash: “If you are a woman who lives in a household of men that don’t listen to you or value your opinion, just remember that your vote is a private matter. Regardless of the political views of your partner, you get to choose.”

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