Michelle Obama joins Harris campaign in Michigan as Trump rallies in swing state

Michelle Obama, in her first public campaign event of this US election, will join Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Michigan on Saturday, while Republican nominee Donald Trump holds his own rally in the battleground state.

With about 8.4 million registered voters and 15 electoral college votes out of the 270 needed to win, Michigan is one of seven competitive US states that will decide the election.

It’s part of the “Blue Wall” considered the Democrats’ best chance to elect Harris, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

In Michigan, Harris and Trump are battling for voters that include large Arab-American and Muslim populations, and union workers worry about how electric vehicles could reshape the U.S. auto industry, which is based in Detroit, its largest city. of the state.

Former President Trump has courted auto workers by promising tax breaks for auto loans and crackdowns on car sales in China.

Earlier this month he made damaging remarks about Detroit, a majority-black city that Republicans have criticized for its crime rates, even though they have fallen significantly in recent years.

He said of Harris, “Our whole country is going to end up being like Detroit if she’s your president.”

Harris and Obama are expected to focus on the opposition between Harris and Trump over abortion rights, taxes, unions and tariffs. Harris’ rally will be held in the southern city of Kalamazoo, while Trump’s will be held in the Detroit suburb of Novi, about 130 miles away.

Harris leads Trump nationally by a narrow 46 percent to 43 percent, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. In Michigan, Harris leads by even less — 47.6 percent to 47.1 percent, according to polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight.

Democratic President Joe Biden, Harris’ boss, won Michigan by 150,000 votes in the 2020 election over Trump, a margin of less than 3 percentage points, while Trump won by 11,000 votes in 2016.

As of the 2020 election, Michigan has instituted early in-person voting for the first time and began allowing jurisdictions with more than 5,000 people to begin processing and sorting mail-in ballots eight days before Election Day on Nov. 5.

So far, 19.5 percent of Michigan’s registered voters, or nearly 1.42 million people, have cast ballots, the Michigan Department of State said Friday. Only 10,900 were in-person early votes, while the rest were returned absentee ballots.

“Celebrity Appeal”

Michelle Obama, the popular wife of former President Barack Obama, is the latest example of Democrats relying on star power in the final days of the election cycle.

Musicians Bruce Springsteen and Beyoncé have campaigned with the vice president in recent days.

Trump, who will also travel to must-win Pennsylvania on Saturday, has brought the likes of retired professional wrestler Hulk Hogan and musician Kid Rock.

In August, Michelle Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention, where she tore into Trump, criticizing his character and past racist attacks on her and her husband.

He mocked Trump for his campaign reference to unspecified “Black jobs” that he said were being taken away from black Americans by immigrants.

“Who’s to tell him that the job he’s looking for right now might just be one of those ‘black jobs?’ Obama asked.

Before Biden dropped out of the race in July, a Reuters/Ipsos The poll showed Michelle Obama ahead of Trump 50% to 39% in a hypothetical matchup. He has repeatedly said he has no plans to run for president.