Former US President Barack Obama made an impassioned appeal to black men to support Democratic candidates.
During an unannounced stop at the Harris campaign’s field office in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, she chided male voters for “coming up with all sorts of reasons and excuses” not to support a female president.
President Obama then mocked President Donald Trump, who is making his first appearance on the 2024 campaign, calling him "insane conspiracy theories, two-hour speeches, word salad.”
Also on Thursday, the Republican candidate spoke in the battleground state of Michigan, warning that the entire country would be thrown into “chaos” if Harris were elected.
With just 25 days left until Election Night in America, the presidential election is closer than ever, with the winner likely to be determined by votes in several closely contested states in the Midwest and Southwest.
Harris has sought to expand support among black voters, but a poll conducted in September by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) found that one in four black men under 50 would vote in November. said they supported Trump over Harris.
Obama, the nation’s first black president, suggested that sexism had something to do with why the hesitation “seems more pronounced among siblings.”
“I have a problem with that, because part of it makes me think – and I’m talking directly to men – that part of it is, well, you think that Because it makes me think, “I just don’t feel it.” They’re coming up with other alternatives, other reasons for having a woman as president. ”
Through Harris’ policy proposals, Obama said she wanted “someone who grew up like you, who knows you, who went to college with you, who understands the struggle and the pain and the joy that comes with that experience. ” But on the other hand, it’s not just for the community that Trump has “consistently shown disregard for, but has not been,” but also for you as a person. ”
But Democrat Nina Turner, a former surrogate for Bernie Sanders, questioned why black men were being “lectured” and “disparaged in a way that no other voting group is.”
“There’s a lot of love for former President Obama, but it’s wrong for him to single out black men,” Turner told CNN.
The former president, who remains a popular figure within the Democratic Party, later spearheaded Harris’ campaign rally in Pittsburgh and tried to energize supporters with sharp attacks on Trump.
At one point, President Obama compared Trump to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, saying, “Trump’s behavior, his bullying, his degrading behavior is not, and never has been, real strength.” he said.
“Get off your couch and vote. Put down your phone and vote. Invite your friends and family to vote,” he said.
Harris herself will be campaigning Thursday in Nevada, where she is trying to shore up support among Latino voters who could tip the race in her favor.
Meanwhile, Trump 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, with much of his talk focusing on claims that the domestic auto industry is failing. was.
He accused the Biden-Harris administration of “destroying our country,” adding that years of poor leadership have allowed big corporations to “infiltrate and raid and rape our country.” Ta.
President Trump also proposed a new tax deduction for car loan interest, one of a number of populist economic proposals he has floated in the final stages of the campaign.
But those comments were overshadowed by a moment in which the three-time Republican candidate lashed out at the voters he resides in and whose support he seeks.
“I don’t think what we’re talking about today is high on (Harris’) list. The whole country is going to be like, ‘Do you want to know the truth?'” he said. I did.
“It’s going to be like Detroit. If she’s president, our whole country is going to be like Detroit. You’re going to be in a mess.”
State and local leaders condemned the comments, with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer calling the city “by winners who are willing to get their hands dirty and build their own cities and create their own communities.” “He epitomizes the definition of ‘grit,’ something Donald Trump will never understand.” ”.
“So don’t talk about Detroit, and you better believe Detroiters won’t forget this in November,” said Whitmer, a Harris ally.
The Trump campaign later told US media that Trump claimed that Detroit was “suffering from the globalist policies promoted by Kamala Harris” and that “his policies will usher in a new era of economic success and stability for Detroit.” This will help the city develop to its full potential.” Potential”.
On Friday, when President Trump visits Aurora, Colorado, he plans to focus on the issue of illegal immigration, which polls show voters trust him to handle better than Harris. Aurora is a city that some Republicans say is overrun by Venezuelan immigrant gangs.
Harris is also scheduled to speak in Nevada, but Harris is also scheduled to speak in neighboring Arizona.
