by Daniel Johnson
October 27, 2024
Obama appealed to the “men who love us.”
As polls continue to show a deep gender gap for Vice President Kamala Harris, former first lady Michelle Obama made a passionate plea for men to advocate for women through their vote at the ballot box at a rally in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in October. 26.
According to the New York Times, this was Mrs. Obama's first appearance on the campaign trail, and she made it clear through her remarks to the crowd that she and many other women have a deeply personal investment in the election of Vice President Harris.
Obama appealed to male voters and the “men who love us”: “I ask all of you from the bottom of my heart to take our lives seriously.”
“If your wife is lying on the operating table during a routine delivery, shaking and bleeding, her pressure dropping as she loses more and more blood, or an unforeseen infection spreading and her doctors aren't sure they can act, then you will “Be the one who prays that it’s not too late,” Mrs. Obama said. “You will be the one asking someone, anyone, to do something.”
She continued: “If we don't get this election right, your wife, your daughter, your mother, we as women, will become collateral damage to your anger.”
Not content with that, Obama took the media to task for being complicit in holding the vice president to a much higher standard than appears to be held to former president and convicted felon Donald Trump.
Mrs. Obama criticized the media and voters for “ignoring the gross incompetence of Donald Trump and demanding that Kamala blind us at every turn.”
She continued: “We expect her to be intelligent, articulate, to have clear policies, to never show too much anger and to continually prove that she belongs.” But from Trump we expect nothing at all, no understanding of politics, no ability to put together a coherent argument, no honesty, no decency, no morality.”
Vice President Harris just had to underscore the points that Mrs. Obama made eloquently and sometimes forcefully when she told the crowd during her speech after Obama's speech: “We see women fighting across state lines to get the care they need . “Do you think Donald Trump is thinking about the consequences for the millions of women who will live in medical deserts?”
The vice president continued: “I want the men in the arena to agree with me because this is about more than just protecting a woman's decision to give birth,” she said. “Unfortunately, as women and girls, we are not educated to talk openly about our reproductive health. Instead, we were taught to feel shame and to hide how our bodies function.”
She also emphasized that unwanted teenage pregnancies affect not only young girls, but also young fathers, whose lives will change drastically.
The urgency from both Vice President Harris and the former first lady has its roots in polling data.
As Vox reported, almost all polls suggest that men are lagging behind women in their support for Harris' candidacy.
Although recent USA Today and Suffolk University polls do not break down by gender and race, in an ABC News and Ipsos poll of likely voters in the 2024 election, Black men currently lead, supporting Harris at 85%, while Latinx men are at 63% in the polls and white men are far behind at 38%.
A new ABC News/Ipsos poll shows Kamala Harris winning black men 85%-11% as of 2020 and outperforming Biden among black men by 14 points. Either their strategy is working or the polls have been wrong all along. Either way, just vote. 🗳️ pic.twitter.com/NcIYc5Mwx8
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) October 27, 2024
According to CBS News, the election could also turn into a referendum on personal views on progress.
Men who believe the focus on diversity, equity and inclusion has left them behind in favor of women are more likely to support Trump, while women who believe Trump is incompetent and unfit to be president are more likely to do so , Vice President to support Harris.
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