Michelle Obama has delivered a searing denunciation of Donald Trump in Michigan, challenging voters to elect Kamala Harris as the United States' first woman president.
“By every measure, she has demonstrated that she’s ready," the former first lady said on Saturday.
“The real question is, as a country, are we ready for this moment?”
It was Obama's first appearance on the campaign trail since she spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and her remarks were forceful and passionate, even vulnerable.
She said she fears for the country and struggles to understand why the presidential race remains close.
“I lay awake at night wondering, 'What in the world is going on?'” she said.
Her voice vibrating with emotion, Obama warned that Trump's potential return to the White House would undermine women's health and reproductive freedom.
“I am asking y’all from the core of my being to take our lives seriously," she said.
The rally in Kalamazoo followed Harris' visit to a local doctor's office in Portage to talk with health care providers and medical students about the impact of abortion restrictions.
One of them said they have patients visiting from other parts of the country where there are strict limitations on abortion, and another said she's worried that people won't want to practise in important areas of medicine because of fears about government intrusion.
“We are looking at a health care crisis in America that is affecting people of every background and gender," Harris told reporters.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden went to a union hall in Pittsburgh to promote Harris' support for organised labour, telling the audience to “follow your gut” and “do what's right”.
Harris appeared with Beyoncé on Friday in Houston and campaigned with former president Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen on Thursday in Atlanta.
It's a level of celebrity clout that surpasses anything that Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, has been able to marshal this year.
But there's no guarantee that will help Harris in the close race for the White House.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton lost to Trump despite firing up her crowds with musical performances and Democratic allies.
In Michigan, Harris and Trump are battling for voters that include an Arab American and Muslim population concerned about Israel's bombardment of Gaza, and union workers worried about how electric vehicles could reshape the US auto industry, which is headquartered in Detroit, the state's largest city.
Speaking at a rally outside Detroit, Trump said he had met with group of local imams, arguing that he deserved the support of Muslim voters because he would end conflicts and bring peace to the Middle East.
"That's all they want," Trump said in the Detroit suburb of Novi, also pledging to auto workers at the rally that he would reverse economic decline in the Detroit area and nationwide.
"I think Detroit and some of our areas makes us a developing nation," Trump said.
Saturday is the first day that early in-person voting became available across Michigan. More than 1.4 million ballots have already been submitted, representing 20 per cent of registered voters.
When Clinton was running against Trump, Michelle Obama inspired Democrats with the slogan “when they go low, we go high”.
But this year, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, she adopted a more biting approach.
She accused Trump of "doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people’s lives better”.
with Reuters
