Michelle Obama, in first appearance on the Harris campaign trail, says the race is ‘too close for my liking’

• Michelle Obama hasn’t made campaign appearances since her speech at the DNC 2 months ago.
• Her first campaign visit for Kamala Harris came Saturday in Michigan, where polls show a tight race.
• In her speech, Obama said the race is “too close for my liking.”

Michelle Obama made her first official appearance on the campaign trail with Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday, speaking in Michigan, where polls show a tight race between the VP and former President Donald Trump.

Obama, who prefers to avoid partisan politics and has been noticeably absent from the spotlight throughout the 2024 election cycle, last made an official appearance at the Democratic National Convention in August.

This year, a large part of her efforts focused on increasing voter turnout in battleground states through her nonprofit organization When We All Vote, which she started in 2018.

In her Saturday speech in Kalamazoo, Obama said she hasn’t “done this in such a long time” and chose to come to Michigan because this year’s election is a tight race.

Multiple polls, including national polling by The New York Times and Siena College, show a deadlocked race between Harris and Trump. A Quinnipiac University poll published Wednesday shows Harris with a small lead, 49% to 46%.

“We need all of you because right now, as you know, this race is close. It’s too close for my liking,” Obama said. “And I came out here to Michigan because I am someone who takes her own advice to heart. I know that 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.”

Obama also had high praise for her “dear friend” Harris while taking shots at Trump.

“She’s showing us what a sane, stable leader looks like,” she said of Harris, while criticizing Trump’s White House record and calling him a “convicted felon,” “a known slum lord,” and a “predator found liable for sexual abuse.”

“I gotta ask myself, ‘Well, why on Earth is this race even close?” Obama said.

The former first lady is the latest high-profile supporter to show up for the Harris campaign.

Beyoncé joined the vice president on Friday at a Houston rally to help push the Harris campaign’s message on protecting reproductive rights.

“I’m not here as a celebrity. I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother,” the singer said.

Actor Julia Roberts, rapper Eminem, and Oprah Winfrey are among other notable figures who have made cameos at Harris rallies.

Celebrities have also shown up at Trump rallies as the election comes down to the wire, including actor Dennis Quaid, country singer Jason Aldean, and billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk.

Spokespeople for Harris, Obama, and Trump did not respond to a request for comment.