Former U.S. President Barack Obama earnestly appealed to black men to support Democratic candidates.
During an unannounced stop by the Harris campaign field office in the swing state of Pennsylvania, he scolded male voters for “coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses” not to support a woman for president.
Obama later mocked Donald Trump with “crazy conspiracy theories, two-hour speeches and word salad” during his 2024 election campaign debut.
Also Thursday, the Republican candidate spoke in a Michigan battleground and warned that if Harris were elected, the country would descend into “chaos.”
With just 25 days left until Election Day in the United States, the race for president is more intense than ever, with the winner likely to be decided by votes in a handful of hotly contested states in the Midwest and Southwest.
Harris has been trying to shore up support among black voters, but a poll conducted by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in September found that one in four black men under 50 said they would support Trump over Harris in November. .
Obama, America’s first black president, suggested that gender discrimination was at work because “it seems to be more noticeable among siblings.”
“I have a problem with that,” he said. “Part of it is because I’m talking directly to the guys and part of it is because it makes you think you’re not feeling the idea.” “It’s about coming up with other alternatives and reasons for having a woman as president.”
In reviewing Harris’ policy proposals, Obama added, “Someone who grew up like you, knows you, went to college with you, and understands the struggles and pain and joys that come with those experiences.” Trump, on the other hand, has “consistently ignored it. Not just for the community, but for you as an individual.”
The former president remains a popular figure within the Democratic Party, and later headlined a Harris campaign rally in Pittsburgh, trying to energize supporters with sharp attacks on Trump.
Obama once compared him to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, saying “Trump’s behavior, bullying and disappointing people… is not true power and never has been.”
“Get off the couch and vote. Put down your phone and vote. Gather your friends and family and vote,” he said.
Harris campaigned Thursday in Nevada, where she is trying to drum up support among Latino voters who could tilt the race in her favor.
Trump, meanwhile, brought his campaign message to Detroit, Michigan’s largest city and the center of U.S. auto manufacturing.
Addressing an audience at the Detroit Economic Club, he spoke for more than an hour on topics ranging from voting rules to tariffs on China, much of which focused on claims that the domestic auto industry was failing.
He accused the Biden-Harris administration of “destroying our country,” adding that years of weak leadership had allowed big corporations to “come in and raid and rape our country.”
But those comments were overshadowed by the moment the three-term Republican candidate slammed his city and the cities of the voters he is seeking support from.
“If she were your president, our whole country would be like Detroit. Your hands would be a mess,” he said.
State and local leaders condemned the comments, with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer defending the city as “the epitome of ‘grit’, defined as winners willing to get their hands dirty to build their cities and create their communities.” I did it. This is something Donald Trump will never understand. “.
“So don’t talk about Detroit, and you better believe Detroit won’t forget it in November,” said Whitmer, a Harris ally.
The Trump campaign later claimed in US media that Trump had left the city “suffering from the globalist policies championed by Kamala Harris” and that “his policies have ushered in a new era of economic success and stability for Detroit, helping the city to make the most of the city.” “It will help us achieve results,” he said. “potential”.
On Friday, Trump will focus on illegal immigration when he visits Aurora, Colorado, a city that some Republicans say is controlled by gangs of Venezuelan immigrants, where polls show voters trust him to handle it better than Harris. no see.
He is also scheduled to speak in Nevada, and Harris plans to speak in the neighboring state of Arizona.
