Michelle Obama fires up men to vote

Michelle Obama challenged men to support Kamala Harris' bid to be America's first female president, warning at a rally in Michigan that women's lives would be at risk if Donald Trump returned to the White House.

The former first lady described the assault on abortion rights as the harbinger of dangerous limitations on health care for women. Some men may be tempted to vote for Trump because of their anger at the slow pace of progress, but "your rage does not exist in a vacuum," she said.

"If we don't get this election right, your wife, daughter, mother, we as women will become collateral damage to your rage," she said. "So are you as men prepared to look into the eyes of the women and children you love and tell them you supported this assault on our safety?"

The rally in Kalamazoo was her first campaign appearance since the Democratic national convention in August, and her remarks were searing and passionate in their support of Harris.

"By every measure, she has demonstrated that she's ready," Obama said. "The real question is, as a country, are we ready for this moment?"

She added: "do not buy into the lies that we do not know who Kamala is or what she stands for. This is somebody who understands you, all of you."

Although Obama has been a reluctant campaigner over the years, she showed no hesitation on Saturday as her speech stretched from the political to the personal

Obama said she fears for the country and struggles to understand why the race remains close. "I lay awake at night wondering, 'What in the world is going on?'"

Speaking with emotion, she talked about the struggle for women to understand and care for their own bodies and the dangers of childbirth, when a split-second decision can mean the difference between life and death for mother and her baby.

"I am asking y'all from the core of my being to take our lives seriously," she said.

Harris and runningmate Tim Walz will crisscross the country to visit all seven battleground states in the coming days, part of a final blitz.

ASSOCIATED PRESS