Michelle Obama delivered a scathing denunciation of Donald Trump in Michigan on Saturday and challenged voters to support Kamala Harris as the first female president of the United States.

“By every measure, she has shown that she is ready,” the former first lady said. “The real question is, as a country, are we ready for this moment?”

It was Obama’s first campaign appearance since her spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago over the summer, and her remarks were powerful and passionate, even vulnerable.

She said she fears for the country and struggles to understand why the presidential race stay close

“I would lie awake at night and wonder, ‘What the hell is going on?'” she said.

Her voice vibrating with emotion, Obama warned that Trump’s potential return to the White House would undermine women’s health and reproductive freedom.

“I am asking you from the core of my being to take our lives seriously,” she said.

The Kalamazoo rally followed Harris’ visit to a Portage doctor’s office to talk with health care providers and medical students about the impact of abortion restrictions. One of them said they have patients visiting from other parts of the country where there are strict restrictions on abortion, and another said she was concerned that people would not want to practice in important areas of medicine because of fears of government intervention .

“We’re looking at a health care crisis in America that affects people of all backgrounds and genders,” Harris told reporters before visiting the doctor’s office.

Meanwhile, President Biden went to a union hall in Pittsburgh to promote Harris’ support for organized labor, telling the audience to “follow your gut” and “do what’s right.”

Harris appeared alongside Beyoncé Friday in Houston, and she campaigned with former President Obama and Bruce Springsteen Thursday in Atlanta.

That’s a level of celebrity influence that surpasses anything Trump, the Republican nominee, has managed to do this year. But there’s no guarantee that will help Harris in the tight race for the White House. In 2016, Hillary Clinton lost to Trump despite firing up her crowds with musical performances and Democratic allies.

Trump rejected Harris’ attempt to harness star power for her campaign.

“Kamala is at a dance party with Beyoncé,” the former president said Friday in Traverse City, Michigan. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, held a rally in Novi, a suburb of Detroit, on Saturday, during which he once again denigrated Michigan’s largest city.

Saturday is the first day in-person early voting has become available in Michigan. More than 1.4 million ballots were submitted, representing 20% ​​of registered voters.

When Clinton ran against Trump, Michelle Obama inspired Democrats with the slogan “when they go low, we go high.”

But this year, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, she took a more biting approach. She accused Trump of “repeating ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people’s lives better.”

At a campaign event in Pittsburgh, Biden spoke to the Laborers International Union of North America. He noted that Harris once walked the picket line with the United Auto Workers — “he’s got a spine like a wand” — while Trump undermined organized labor.

“He views unions as standing in the way of the accumulation of wealth for individuals,” Biden said. “It’s in the best interest of labor to beat Donald Trump, more so than any other race you’ve been in.”

Biden’s remarks to the mostly male audience referenced the gender gap that has been a consistent feature of this year’s presidential race.

Speaking of Trump, Biden said: “I’ll say it straight, he’s a loser as a man.”

He also said that women deserve more opportunities than they have received in the past.

“They can do anything any man can do, including being president of the United States of America,” Biden said.

Associated Press Superville writers reported from Kalamazoo, Madhani from Pittsburgh and Megerian from Washington.