(Bloomberg) -- Kamala Harris got a boost from Michelle Obama, one of the most popular figures in Democratic politics, as both she and her rival, Donald Trump, blitzed through key states ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.
“Can someone tell me once again why we are holding Kamala to a higher standard?” Obama asked a crowd of supporters in Kalamazoo, Michigan, her first appearance with Harris. “Let’s not forget the incompetence and the corruption, the chaos, that was the cornerstone of his entire four years in office,” she said of Trump, citing the numerous members of his administration who aren’t backing his current run.
“I’ve got to ask myself why on Earth is this race even close,” Obama said. ”It’s too close for my liking.”
Harris and Trump are hopscotching through the handful of states that are expected to determine the outcome of the election, betting on high-profile events over the weekend to help drive voters to the polls.
President Joe Biden also hit the campaign trail, attacking billionaire Trump backer Elon Musk for allegedly having started his career as an “illegal worker.”
Democrats are hoping the president will shore up support for Harris in Pennsylvania, his birth state, as Harris clings to a 1.7 percentage-point advantage in the critical battleground in the latest Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll.
Here’s the latest from the campaign trail:
Biden Blasts Musk on Immigration
President Biden took aim at Elon Musk on Saturday, telling union members that the billionaire’s history is at odds with his stance on illegal Immigration.
“The wealthiest man in the world now his ally, right?” Biden said in Pittsburgh during a get-out-the-vote event. “That wealthiest man in the world turned out to be an illegal worker here when he was here. Oh, I’m serious. He was supposed to be in school when he came on a student visa. He wasn’t in school. He was violating the law. He’s talking about all these illegals coming our way.”
The comments appeared to refer to a Washington Post report about Musk working without a visa 20 years ago, worrying investors that he could get deported. The Post said Musk and his lawyer didn’t respond to requests for comment for that article.
Musk, an outspoken Trump fan, has been working to get Republican voters registered — with a daily $1 million prize for a lucky voter. The Justice Department has reportedly warned Musk that his activity could be illegal.
Trump Talks Cars
Trump honed his final-stretch message in the Detroit suburb of Novi, claiming he’ll bring Michigan’s auto industry “roaring back” with the “intelligent use of tariffs, taxes and incentives” — and mocking Harris for deploying superstar Beyoncé at a Houston rally on Friday night without having her sing.
The former president touted pledges to keep out Chinese-made cars, cut energy costs and spur business with corporate tax cuts that favor companies that manufacture in the US. If he’s reelected, he said, “the entire world will be talking about the ‘Michigan miracle’ and the stunning rebirth of Detroit.”
Trump has floated a series of tax-cut ideas, including one to make interest on car loans deductible on US-built vehicles that he repeated in Novi. Asked whether Trump was serious when he suggested eliminating US income taxes, his adviser Jason Miller told reporters that it “would be potentially something in the future that could be an aspirational goal.”
Trump’s rally included a pitch to Arab-American voters in a state where they’ve traditionally been a pillar of Democratic support. Ten days before Election Day and with swing-state polls showing the two candidates in a dead heat, he also offered a simpler message.
“Are you better than you were four years ago? I doubt it,” he said. “This is all you need to know: Kamala broke it, I will fix it.”
Harris Focus On Abortion Rights
Fresh off a rally with Beyoncé that drew a crowd of 30,000, Harris kept her focus on abortion rights. At a stop with health-care providers in Portage, Michigan, she discussed the 2022 US Supreme Court ruling that voided the constitutional right to an abortion, saying that “we as a country have faced a health care crisis” since.
The ruling hasn’t just limited access to abortion care but poses a risk to clinics, “safe places for people to go” for cancer screenings, HIV testing and other care, Harris said.
Harris will spend Sunday in Philadelphia neighborhoods encouraging key voters to go to the polls, a campaign official said. She plans to start with outreach to Black voters in West Philadelphia, including a speech at church services and a visit to a barber shop for a conversation with young Black men and community leaders.
Biden Courts Labor
President Biden returned to his native state of Pennsylvania to campaign for his vice president and shore up support among union members, kicking off an event in Pittsburgh by the Laborers’ International Union of North America. He said it’s in organized labor’s interest to defeat Trump, whom he called “a loser as a man.”
While Biden has hit the trail in Pennsylvania several times, he hasn’t appeared with Harris since Sept. 2 when they campaigned together in Pittsburgh.
Pennsylvania’s 19 Electoral College votes make it the biggest prize among likely swing states.
--With assistance from Alicia Diaz.
(Updates with Harris-Michelle Obama rally.)
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