Obama recalls Trump's 2020 election chaos at a rally for Harris in Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Mich
CNN
—

Former President Barack Obama on Tuesday night recalled the chaos and violence that former President Donald Trump fomented in Detroit after the 2020 election as he campaigned to mobilize voters in Michigan in support of Vice President Kamala Harris.

“One of the most troubling things about this election, about Trump's rise in politics, is that so many of us, even good people we know, suddenly somehow seem ready to abandon values ​​that we were taught,” noted he in front of the crowded congress hall.

Speaking from Huntington Place, the same convention center where mail-in ballots were counted in 2020 as Trump and his supporters sought to sow doubt about the state's election results, Obama recalled that “Donald Trump was willing to lie about “Spreading voter fraud in Michigan, protesters came down, banging on the windows, chanting, 'Let us in, stop the count.' Election workers are being intimidated.”

He pointed to a file from special counsel Jack Smith unsealed earlier this month that detailed how a Trump campaign aide told someone to “riot” when he learned of rising tensions at the Detroit Counting Center .

As Obama described the file, some people in the crowd began to boo and jeer, to which Obama replied sternly, “Don't boo.” Although it was a repetition of his well-known phrase “Don't boo, vote,” the interaction was more pronounced, as the crowd briefly booed louder, even as the former president strongly objected.

The stop in Detroit was Obama's fifth rally for Harris – and fifth battleground state – during his biggest campaign since leaving office. He and Harris will appear together on the campaign trail for the first time on Thursday in Georgia.

Trump also held a rally at the Detroit Convention Center last Friday as he now encourages Michigan voters to take advantage of the very early voting processes he challenged in 2020.

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

The former Democratic president was introduced by Detroit rapper Eminem, whose blistering criticism of Trump went viral at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards. Although Eminem did not perform, Obama briefly rapped the song's opening lyrics, “Lose Yourself.”

Obama again criticized Trump for taking credit for “my economy” and reminded the Detroit audience of the major auto industry bailout he announced shortly after taking office, when the city was struggling and automakers were facing bankruptcy.

“I know people in Detroit remember this. I spent eight years cleaning up the mess the Republicans left me. You remember that the auto industry in America was in ruins. They didn't want to lift a finger to help, and we made the investments to reopen these factories and get people back to work,” he said, adding that he would support Trump when he left office ” “75 months of job growth in a row”. ” and that “the economy was good because we did the work.”

“I understand why people are trying to shake things up. I get that,” he said, saying he doesn't understand “why anyone would think that Donald Trump is going to shake things up in a way that's good for you, because there's absolutely no evidence that this man thinking about anyone but yourself.”

The former president famously criticized Trump and repeatedly defended Harris while trying to validate her candidacy to critical audiences in Michigan.

“She worked at McDonald's while she was in college to pay her expenses,” Obama said. “She didn't pretend to work at McDonald's when it was closed.”

He also addressed Trump's vice presidential running mate, Sen. JD Vance, who said in the vice presidential debate that Trump “saved” the Affordable Care Act, saying: “Donald Trump has spent his entire presidency trying to tear the thing down, and he couldn't.” “I don't even do that,” and mocked Trump for saying he had “concepts for a plan” for health care.

Obama appealed directly to the men in the audience and beyond, saying Trump was not a symbol of strength: “I'm here to tell you that's not what true strength is.” That has never been the case. True strength is working hard, showing up on the factory floor every day and working your butt off. True strength lies in taking responsibility for your actions and honoring your duty. True strength comes from helping people who need it.”