The crowd at a Kamala Harris campaign rally in Pennsylvania erupted as Michelle Obama warned of what a Donald Trump-led future would entail.
As the former first lady warned about the future if the election “went the wrong way,” inferring a win for the Republican nominee, a member of the crowd shouted out, “We’re not going back.”
Obama said, “I pray to God,” as the crowd then began chanting, “Not going back.”
In Obama’s warning about a Trump-led future, she said, “If we keep exposing our children to hatred and ugliness, we risk eroding their sense of humanity, we risk breaking their spirits, we risk extinguishing their hope for the future.”
“If this election goes the wrong way, this backward vision of America being spewed by Kamala’s opponent, it will affect all of our lives, no matter how old we are,” she added.
Newsweek contacted the Trump campaign out of hours via email for comment.
Former first lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks in Norristown, Pennsylvania, on November 2, 2024. As she warned about a future with Donald Trump as leader, a member of the crowd shouted, “Not going back.”
Bastiaan Slabbers/Sipa via AP
Detailing what the future would involve if the Republican nominee won the election on November 5, Obama pointed to the “dismantling of the Department of Education, to gutting the women’s health system, to prioritizing those at the top over everybody else.”
Her comments were referring to points from Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation mock-up of what a future conservative should do to overhaul the U.S. government.
Trump himself has previously distanced himself from the project, but links have been found tying the former president to the plans.
Ammar Moussa, the rapid response director for President Joe Biden‘s reelection campaign, previously told Newsweek that Project 2025 was the “personnel playbook for Trump’s second term.”
Talking about his thoughts on Project 2025, Trump previously said, “I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.”
Project 2025 includes plans to eliminate the Department of Education, reverse the federal protections for abortion and contraception, and proposes consolidating authority within the presidency, as Obama mentioned, as well as a number of other policies.
She also talked about how Trump’s impact on America “will be felt in ways less concrete, the things that happen when folks are encouraged to ignore their angels on their shoulder and embrace the darker forces that exist within us all.”
She mentioned racist chants at football events, the “neighbors who won’t make eye contact because of politics, the walks down the street that feel a little more dangerous because you look or love or talk a little differently.”
It was found during Trump’s presidency that hate crimes surged nearly 20 percent, according to an FBI report on hate crime statistics.
Footage of Obama’s speech was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by the account @ArtCandee late on Saturday night.
The social media user wrote, “One of the only things that I’m going to miss after the election is over is listening to former first lady Michelle Obama give speeches.”
The post has since accumulated more than 83,000 views.
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