Obama recalls Trump's 2020 election chaos while campaigning for Harris in Michigan CNN Politics

Former President Barack Obama recalled former President Donald Trump's chaos and violence in Detroit on Tuesday evening in the run-up to the 2020 election as he made his case for Michigan voters to rally in support of Vice President Kamala Harris.

“One of the most disturbing things about the rise of Trump in politics this election is how many of us, even good people we know, suddenly seem willing to cast aside the values ​​we were taught,” he remarked to the packed conference. Hall

Speaking from Huntington Place, the same convention center where mail-in ballots were counted in 2020 when Trump and his supporters sought to cast doubt on the state's election results, Obama recalled that, “because Donald Trump was willing to spread lies about voter fraud in Michigan, the protesters down Came down, banging on the window, yelling, 'Let us in, stop counting.' Poll workers are being intimidated inside.”

He pointed to a filing by special counsel Jack Smith that was unsealed earlier this month in which a Trump campaign aide told someone to “riot them” when told about the tension at the Detroit counting center.

As Obama described the filing, some in the crowd began to jeer, to which Obama retorted, “Don't do it.” Although it was a repeat of his familiar line “Don't be a sister, vote” the interaction was more palpable, as the crowd briefly booed loudly, even as the former president pushed back firmly.

The Detroit stop was Obama's fifth rally for Harris — and fifth battleground state — during the campaign's biggest push since he left office. He and Harris are set to make their first joint campaign appearance in Georgia on Thursday.

Trump also held a rally at the Detroit Convention Center last Friday, as he encouraged voters in Michigan to take advantage of very early voting processes to cast doubt in 2020.

“There was another rally here on Friday night, but it was a little smaller than this one,” Obama told the crowd, which took up significantly more space in the hall than Trump's audience a few days earlier.

Detroit native rapper Eminem introduced the Democratic former president, whose critical critique of Trump at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards went viral. Although Eminem did not perform, Obama briefly rapped the beginning of “Lose Yourself.”

Obama again criticized Trump for taking credit for “my economy,” reminding the Detroit audience of the major auto industry bailout he announced shortly after taking office when the city struggled and automakers went bankrupt.

“I know people in Detroit remember that. I spent eight years cleaning up the mess the Republicans left me. You all remember America's auto industry was flat on its back. They didn't want to lift a finger for help, and we invested in reopening those factories and putting people back to work,” he said, adding that when he left office, he handed Trump “75 straight months of job growth,” and “the economy was good. Because we worked.”

“I understand why people want to shake things up. I understand that,” he said, adding that he doesn't understand “why anyone would think that Donald Trump is going to shake things up for you because there's no evidence that this guy cares about anyone but himself.”

The former president delivered a familiar blistering critique of Trump, repeatedly rising to Harris' defense as he tried to legitimize his candidacy to a critical Michigan audience.

Obama said he worked at McDonald's while in college. “He didn't pretend to work when McDonald's closed.”

He also went after Trump's running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, in the vice presidential debate, saying that Trump had “saved” the Affordable Care Act, saying, “Donald Trump spent his whole presidency trying to dismantle that thing, and he couldn't even do that.” ” and mocked Trump, saying he had “an idea for a plan” on health care.

Obama appealed directly to men in the audience and beyond, saying Trump was not a symbol of strength: “I'm here to tell you that's not what real strength is. It never has been. Real strength is working hard, showing up on the factory floor every day, blowing their butts off.” Giving. Real power is taking responsibility for their actions. Real power is helping people who need it.”