By Jeff Mason
PITTSBURGH (Reuters) -Former President Barack Obama made a passionate case against Donald Trump on Thursday during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in which he appealed directly to men to reject Trump's bravado and back Vice President Kamala Harris.
Obama has been a vocal supporter of Harris since she ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden stepped aside in July following a poor debate performance against Trump, the Republican former president.
Obama, whose White House term ended in 2017, is still popular with his party's base. The rally he headlined at the University of Pittsburgh, held while Harris spent the day campaigning in Nevada and Arizona, is the first of several events he plans to do in coming weeks in battleground states which are likely to decide the election.
In remarks that lambasted Trump both for his character and his policy proposals, Obama zeroed in on male voters, a constituency Harris has struggled to win over.
"I’m sorry, gentlemen. I’ve noticed this especially with some men who seem to think Trump’s behavior, the bullying, and the putting people down is a sign of strength. I am here to tell you that is not what real strength is," he said.
"Real strength is about helping people who need it and standing up for those who can’t always stand up for themselves. That is what we should want for our daughters and for our sons."
Before the rally, during a stop at a local campaign office, Obama went a step further, suggesting Black men were not supporting Harris because of her gender.
"Part of it makes me think -- and I'm speaking to men directly -- part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren't feeling the idea of having a woman as president and you're coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that."
At the rally Obama said Trump only cared about his own ego and money. He stressed that Harris was raised in the middle class and believed in American values, which he contrasted with Trump's mistruths and deliberate attempts to deceive, including recently about the government's response to hurricanes.
"When did that become okay?" Obama asked.
He highlighted Harris' "concrete plans" on housing and taxes.
"Kamala is as prepared for the job as any nominee for president has ever been," he said. "With Kamala you've got actual plans. Trump - concepts of a plan."
RURAL VOTERS, YOUNG VOTERS
Obama is not the only former president the Harris campaign is deploying on the campaign trail.
Bill Clinton, like Obama a two-term Democratic president, as well as a former Arkansas governor, will make stops in Georgia on Sunday and Monday before traveling to North Carolina for a bus tour later in the week in an effort to reach rural voters.
Obama's event on a college campus was also aimed in part at attracting younger voters.
Youth are a critical part of the coalition that the Harris campaign hopes will propel her to victory. But voter registration among young people in 34 states is down compared with four years ago, according to data updated in September from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.
The number of people between the ages of 18 and 29 registered to vote in Pennsylvania in September was 15% lower than it was on election day in 2020, the center's data showed.
"I understand why certain younger people feel discouraged and maybe not as passionate about politics or an interest in voting," said rally attendee AJ Herzog, 27, citing the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
"I think people feel, like, hopeless in certain cases where no matter who they vote for, it's a lot of the same. But I do think there is more opportunity for change with Kamala Harris as president than there is going back to Donald Trump."
Obama's engagement could help get young people motivated in the campaign's final stretch. The former president has sought to serve as a closer for Democratic candidates before, with events for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and for Biden in 2020, especially at the end of the election cycle when early voting had begun, as it has now.
The Trump campaign dismissed Obama's remarks and influence.
"If anyone cared about what Obama says, Hillary Clinton would've been president," said Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.
Obama has helped raise $80 million for the 2024 presidential campaign, according to an aide.
He and his wife, Michelle, gave rousing speeches in support of Harris at the Democratic National Convention in August; the former first lady is expected to campaign further for Harris as well.
Harris was an early supporter of Obama's own 2008 presidential bid, and he has helped her behind the scenes as the party's 2024 standard-bearer.
Obama is viewed by some as having helped usher Biden out of the race after Democrats' worries about the 81-year-old leader's age and abilities skyrocketed after his June debate against Trump.
Harris and Trump remain in a close race, and winning Pennsylvania could be key to winning the White House.
"I get it why people are looking to shake things up," Obama told the rally crowd. "I understand people feeling frustrated, feeling 'we can do better.' What I cannot understand is why anybody would think that Donald Trump will shake things up in a way that is good for you, Pennsylvania."
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Heather Timmons, Jonathan Oatis, Leslie Adler, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Kim Coghill)
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