Michelle Obama bestows her popularity on Harris; tells crowd to ‘Do something!’

Michelle Obama, one of the most esteemed members of the Democratic Party, lent the force of her popularity to Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday at a rally in Michigan where the former first lady sought to mobilize Democrats to the polls. 

“If we want to help this country finally turn the page on the politics of hatred and division, we can’t just sit around and complain. No, we’ve got to do something,” Mrs. Obama told the crowd in a call back to her speech in August at the Democratic National Convention. 

Mrs. Obama received a several-minute standing ovation that finally ended after she told the crowd that they needed to “get the show on the road.”

Mrs. Obama appeared alongside Ms. Harris at a campaign event in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a city President Biden won handily in 2020. 

If Ms. Harris hopes to carry the battleground state this year, she needs a large amount of support from the Democratic base. Most polls say Michigan is a “toss-up” with FiveThirtyEight giving Ms. Harris a 0.4 percent lead over former President Donald Trump. RealClear Polling, however, says Mr. Trump has the edge by 0.2 points in Michigan.

Mrs. Obama told the crowd that the race was too close for her liking and urged Harris supporters to stay “fired up.”

“It’s gonna be close, y’all. We can’t take anything for granted. We are gonna need you this fired up for the next 10 days so that we can get this done and we can sleep at night,” she said. 

Mr. Trump held a rally in Michigan on Friday night, though he was three hours late because his podcast interview with Joe Rogan ran long. 

Ms. Harris needs Democrats to get off the sidelines and mobilize for her, and few people energize the party faithful like Mrs. Obama. Despite her popularity, she largely stays clear of partisan politics making her one of the most sought-after speakers for Democrats.

The rally and Mrs. Obama’s appearance were timed to coincide with the first day of early in-person voting in Michigan. 

In her remarks, Ms. Harris said despite the neck-and-neck race, she is going to pull out a victory. 

“We are going to win, and it’s going to be close and we know that,” she said. “We know the stakes and we also are here together because we love our country and we are prepared to fight for the best of who we are.”

Mrs. Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention armed the Harris campaign with the rallying cry of “do something.” The remarks were one of the most powerful moments of the nationally televised convention. 

Ahead of the rally, Ms.Harris went to a local doctor’s office in Portage, Michigan, to talk with health care providers and medical students about how abortion restrictions are impacting their work. 

The event on Saturday was Mrs. Obama’s first rally of the election cycle and the only one she’s scheduled to appear at with Ms. Harris, who is in a dead heat with Mr. Trump nationally.

Mrs. Obama will also speak at a rally in Atlanta on Tuesday with Bruce Springsteen and other celebrities. The event is being put on by Mrs. Obama’s When We All Vote, an organization edited to educate, register and motivate young people and people of color to vote.