‘Take our lives seriously,’ Michelle Obama pleads as she rallies for Harris

Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris listens at the overflow space of a campaign rally at the Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

KALAMAZOO, Michigan (AP) — Michelle Obama delivered a searing denunciation of Donald Trump on Saturday in Michigan and challenged voters to support Kamala Harris as the United States’ first female president.

“By every measure, she has demonstrated that she’s ready,” the former first lady said. “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 over the summer, 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 practice 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 before visiting the doctor’s office.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden went to a union hall in Pittsburgh to promote Harris’ support for organized labor, telling the audience to “follow your gut” and “do what’s right.”

Harris appeared with Beyoncé on Friday in Houston, and she 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.

Trump brushed off Harris’ attempt to harness star power for her campaign.

“Kamala is at a dance party with Beyoncé,” the former president said Friday in Traverse City, Michigan.

Trump, the Republican nominee for president, is scheduled to hold a rally in Novi, a suburb of Detroit, on Saturday before a later event in State College, Pennsylvania.

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% 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.”

At a campaign event in Pittsburgh, Biden spoke with the Laborers’ International Union of North America.

He mentioned that Harris once walked a picket line with the United Auto Workers — “she has a backbone like a ramrod” — while Trump has undermined organized labor.

“He views unions as getting in the way of the accumulation of wealth for individuals,” Biden said. “It’s in labor’s interest to defeat Donald Trump, more than any other race you’ve been in.”

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 on Trump, Biden said, “I’m just gonna say straight up, he’s a loser as a man.”

He also said that women deserve more opportunities than they’ve received in the past.

“They can do anything any man can do, including be president of the United States of America,” Biden said.