In his closing speech in Norristown, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, Obama indirectly described Trump as a “brazen” and “explosive” “con man,” saying that “once you wink at hate and you make it okay to call someone a bimbo or low IQ or human scum”, “you can’t control the speed and scope of this fire of hatred”.

“Real change, real progress, is difficult to achieve and it takes generations,” Obama said. “But a bad result (next week) can spoil a lot of that progress.”

“You see, one day it happens to people you’ve never met, maybe immigrants or black people. Then it’s a neighbor, a friend, a family member who is Puerto Rican, Jewish or Palestinian. But then it comes for you.

Obama argued that the election is about “reclaiming the role of who belongs to this nation,” but added that she does not “belong to any particular group.”

“We have been inundated with voices and forces that are telling us another story about who we are,” she said. “We’ve had this noise ringing in our ears for over a decade, but at least for me, it’s still not normal. It’s still unstable. …It’s dangerous. It’s shameful. »

Norristown is in the Democratic stronghold of Montgomery County, part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. For Harris to win next Tuesday, she must outperform in Philadelphia and its counties to counter Trump’s dominance in rural areas of the Commonwealth.

Despite her aversion to politics, Obama returned to the national spotlight this summer when she and her husband, former President Barack Obamasupported Harris before encouraging Democrats to “do something” during her speech to the party. national convention In Chicago. She has been selective about her appearances on the campaign trail, giving her first speech to Harris last weekend in another battleground state, Michigan.

There, in Kalamazoo, nicknamed “Kamala-zoo” by Democrats, Obama made the case for Harris and against Trump, whom she accuses of endangering her family with his racist criticism of her husband.

Criticize Trump economic policies to his pandemic response and attempt to undermine the 2020 election, Obama’s harshest condemnation concerns access to abortion And women’s healthmore widely.

Obama also relied on a Democratic strategy of reminding women that they do not have to vote for the same candidate as their husbands.

“If you are a woman who lives in a household of men who don’t listen to you and don’t value your opinion, just remember that your vote is a private matter,” she said. “Regardless of your partner’s political views, you can choose, you can use your judgment and vote for yourself and the women in your life. »

Obama took a different approach this week, amplifying her husband’s message that Trump’s bravado is not masculinity. In Pennsylvania on Saturday, the former first lady called Trump a “little man trying to feel good.”

An hour away, in Pennsylvania’s battleground state, Lehigh County, another Philadelphia county but in which the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton underperformed compared to the president Joe Biden in 2020, Republican women are scrutinizing strategy.

Wendy Kleintop, 68, downplayed the number of women who publicly say they are voting for Trump but privately support Harris.

“You have to laugh at what they do,” said the owner of a small landscaping company in Walnutport. Washington Examiner. “I think there are women who will vote for Trump or their husbands will vote for her. There are many women in our area who are all Republicans.

Kleintop’s cousin, Doris Eckhart, 68, agrees, saying she was surprised while waving Trump flags on the side of the road to pass cars by the number of positive gestures she receives from men, in contrast to the crude gestures of older women.

“It’s amazing how many cars go by and the guys are like that (thumbs up), and the women are either (thumbs down) or they’re sticking their finger out,” the Palmerton retiree told the Washington Examiner.

Obama was introduced Saturday by Alicia Keys, who also refused to say Trump’s name and stressed the importance of women’s right to vote.

“Getting a woman’s right to vote didn’t come easy,” Keys said. “It inspires me. Sometimes we feel like it doesn’t mean anything. …You matter. Your vote counts. Your voice counts. And if you don’t use your gift, your vote, the vote our ancestors fought so hard for, they will take it from us too.”

Governor. Josh Shapiro (D-PA), a finalist to become Harris’ running mate, spoke in front of Obama and Keys, intoning his modified slogan: “We do shit!” »

“For all the kids, earmuffs, okay?” » said Shapiro. “As we come to the final three days of this presidential campaign, it seems to me that it all comes down to these two things. Who will do things for you? Who is on your side? And who will stand up to protect your freedom?

Shapiro, a popular governor whom Harris embraced in campaign speeches and literature after choosing the governorship. Tim Walz (Democrat-MN), as a vice presidential candidate, specifically criticized Trump for his comments on Puerto Rico being a “floating island of garbage” made during his gathering last weekend in New York Cityat Madison Square Garden.

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“When I hear Donald Trump belittling our fellow Americans, attacking people because of their religion, attacking people because of their appearance, or standing by when one of his surrogates attacks our fellow Pennsylvanians, like 500,000 Puerto Ricans , I don’t hear that.” I don’t like it very much,” he said.

Barack Obama, who has been crisscrossing the country since the beginning of last month, is expected to make one last election campaign in Wisconsin Sunday, the last day of early voting in the Badger State.