“
Michelle Obama will join Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Michigan on Saturday for her first public campaign event of the U.S. election. Meanwhile, Republican candidate Donald Trump will hold his own rally in the battleground state.
Michigan, with its 8.4 million registered voters and 15 electoral college votes, is one of seven competitive states that will play a crucial role in deciding the election. It is part of the “Blue Wall” that Democrats are counting on, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, to secure victory for Harris.
The battle for Michigan is intense, with Harris and Trump vying for support from a diverse population that includes a significant Arab American and Muslim community concerned about issues such as Israel’s conflict in Gaza and union workers worried about the impact of electric vehicles on the auto industry, which is centered in Detroit.
Former President Trump has been appealing to auto workers by promising tax breaks for car loans and taking a tough stance on Chinese car sales. He recently made disparaging comments about Detroit, a mostly Black city that has seen a decrease in crime rates in recent years. He warned that the country would turn into a place like Detroit if Harris became president.
Harris and Obama are expected to highlight the differences between Harris and Trump on various issues including abortion rights, taxes, unions, and tariffs. Harris will hold her rally in Kalamazoo, while Trump’s rally will take place in Novi, a Detroit suburb located about 130 miles away.
Recent polls show Harris leading Trump nationally by a small margin, with a similar narrow lead in Michigan. In the 2020 election, Biden won Michigan by a slim margin, while Trump narrowly carried the state in 2016.
Michigan has introduced early in-person voting for the first time and allowed jurisdictions with over 5,000 residents to start processing and tabulating mail ballots eight days before Election Day on Nov. 5. As of Friday, 19.5% of registered voters in Michigan, nearly 1.42 million people, have already cast their votes, with the majority being returned absentee ballots.
Celebrities have been playing a significant role in the final days of the election cycle, with Michelle Obama, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, and others lending their star power to the campaigns. Trump has also brought in celebrities like Hulk Hogan and Kid Rock to bolster his campaign.
Michelle Obama, who delivered a powerful speech at the Democratic National Convention in August, has been a vocal critic of Trump and his policies. Despite speculation about a potential presidential run, she has repeatedly stated that she has no intentions of running for office.
“