At a rally in Michigan, Michelle Obama went all-in for Kamala Harris, essentially saying that if you’re not voting for Harris, you might need to check your biases. Standing before a cheering crowd, Obama seemed genuinely puzzled—bewildered, even—about why Harris isn’t a runaway favorite. According to her, Harris is practically perfect in every way, and yet somehow, the American people just aren’t getting it. Maybe it’s Harris’s policies, record, or charisma (or lack thereof), but Michelle’s take was clear: if you’re not thrilled by Harris, it must be something wrong with you.
Obama spoke as if Harris is America’s last hope for competence, saying things like, “Why is this race even close?” and throwing in a few veiled digs at voters’ readiness for “this moment.” In other words, she seemed to suggest that if you’re not enthusiastically lining up behind Harris, you’re part of the problem. And the “problem,” in her eyes, seems to boil down to people just not being enlightened enough to embrace Harris fully. It’s a curious approach to winning hearts and minds: criticize the voters for not sharing her high opinion of Harris.
Michelle then upped the ante, practically daring the crowd to “do what it takes to get [Harris] across the finish line.” She even threw in a warning about falling for a “scam,” leaving the impression that there’s a sinister plot against Harris—although what that plot might be, she left to the imagination. Apparently, if Americans don’t push Harris through, they’re just buying into some grand deception. It’s almost as if she was saying, “If you’re not with Harris, you’re part of the scheme against her.”
By the end, Michelle’s “inspiring” words veered into the territory of a guilt trip. Her speech could easily leave folks wondering if it’s really about Harris or about America’s supposed failure to appreciate a candidate like her. Obama managed to make Harris’s campaign seem less like a democratic choice and more like a test of moral character for the nation.
