MADISON, Wis. — With just two weeks to go, former President Barack Obama made the case against Donald Trump in one of the tightest battleground states Tuesday, calling the former president’s words as dangerous, extreme and ” shameful’ as he called it. set the base ablaze in a liberal stronghold of the state.
In front of thousands of people — many of them nervous Democrats, nervous about the closeness of the race — Obama made pleas not only to support Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, but also to volunteer , knocking on doors and getting their friends and neighbors to vote.
“I understand why people want to shake things up. I get it. What I can’t understand is why anyone would think Donald Trump is going to shake things up in a way that’s good for you,” Obama said. “I don’t understand that because there is absolutely no evidence that this man thinks about anyone but himself.”
It was the first day of early voting in a state that President Joe Biden won by just over 20,000 votes in 2020.
Obama at one point asked his voters to consider basic values as they went to the polls. To give an example, he turned to Hurricane Helene, a devastating storm that tore through western North Carolina. He noted that President Joe Biden and Harris visited the state to meet with local officials and survey the damage.
“Donald Trump and his running mate are making up stories about how the Biden administration is withholding aid and giving it to undocumented workers and not to Republican areas – it’s just making things up,” Obama said. “And even the MAGA Republicans in those areas, on the ground, said it was a blatant lie. It’s a shame. When did something like that become okay, regardless of where you stand on the issues?
Trump also went to North Carolina this week to survey the damage from the storm.
Before Obama, Walz addressed the crowd and rebuked Trump’s newest benefactor and one of his biggest boosters, billionaire Elon Musk.
“I’m going to talk about his running mate – his running mate Elon Musk,” Walz said with a laugh. Then, referencing an outdoor meeting that featured an animated Musk jumping with his arms above his head, Walz added, “Elon is on that stage jumping around, jumping like a dip….”
“That guy is literally the richest man in the world who is spending millions of dollars to help Donald Trump buy an election,” Walz said, adding that Trump has said that if elected he would give Musk authority over “government regulations and oversight would hold on the companies”. ”
“So in other words,” Walz said. “Donald Trump promises corruption in front of the American people.”
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The audience radiated enthusiasm, cheering and chanting through the speakers. That included U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who is locked in a tight reelection fight against Republican challenger Eric Hovde.
Still, Democrat after Democrat here expressed concern about the close nature of the election.
“I’m a little worried. It’s so close,” Denise King said. King said she did some research and the response was “a mixed bag” of people supporting Trump or Harris. But ultimately, she believes that if voters turn out in the state, it will result in a win for Harris.
Another voter, Mary Mixon, said she sees a lot of enthusiasm for Harris but remains nervous about the margin of error race.
“I’m concerned because I think Donald Trump has brainwashed people,” Mixon said. “You wouldn’t believe anyone else who lied like that. Why would you believe him? He is a fraud.”
Ben Wikler, chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, underscored how close the race was but said he had confidence in the party’s organizing efforts in recruiting efforts in even rural areas of the state and was encouraged that Harris and Walz visited targeted battlefield areas of the state.
“It’s purely a matter of money at this point, but I wouldn’t trade places for the Republicans,” Wikler said in an interview. “The grassroots energy, the organization on our side, the great surrogates we have… as well as the extraordinary power of our candidates to deliver a message that resonates widely.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
