The race for the White House remained essentially a dead heat on Saturday — with 10 days to go until Election Day.
Vice President Kamala Harris was headed to Michigan to campaign with former first lady Michelle Obama. Former President Donald Trump, who left his supporters waiting for three hours Friday night, is also expected to campaign in the crucial swing state as well.
Latest Developments
Oct 26, 5:46 PM
Michelle Obama gets roaring ovation as she touts Harris
Former first lady Michelle Obama took the stage at Kalamazoo, Michigan, to a roaring ovation before introducing the vice president.
Obama, in her first campaign appearance since the DNC, spoke about Harris’ mature temperament and history of working for all Americans.
“Michigan, do not buy into the lie that we do not understand who Kamala is or what she stands for,” she said.
“Take it from me, I know good people,” Obama said.
She questioned “why on Earth this race is even close,” but contended that Kamala has shown she is ready for the job.
“The real question is, are we ready for this moment?” Obama said.
The former first lady said she was angry at the indifference shown to Donald Trump over his history of division, bias and lack of care for democracy.
“Some folks think he’s funny. That’s how he got elected the first time. Folks gave him a pass and rolled the dice, betting that he couldn’t possibly be that bad,” she said.
“Nothing this man says or does is funny in any way,” Obama later added.
The former first lady addressed the men in the crowd when talking about the stakes of women’s health and reproductive rights if Trump wins.
She talked about the loss that many women have seen in the last three years through the loss of reproductive care following the Dobbs decision and the dangers if Trump pushes for more restrictions.
“Your girlfriend could be the one in legal jeopardy if she needs a pill from out-of-state or overseas, or if she has to travel across state lines because the clinic closed up. Your wife or mother could be the ones at higher risk of dying from undiagnosed cervical cancer because they have no access to regular gynecological care. Your daughter could be the one to terrified to call the doctor if she’s bleeding during an unexpected pregnancy,” she said.
“So fellas, before you cast your vote, ask yourselves, what side of history do you want to be on?” Obama later added.
Oct 26, 4:46 PM
Trump slams Beyoncé, claims support of Muslims
Former President Donald Trump took the stage in Novi, Michigan, on Saturday where he promptly attacked Beyonce’s guest appearance at Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally Friday night in Texas and bashed the musician for not performing.
“So Beyoncé went out and spoke for a couple of minutes, and then left, and the place went crazy,” he said before falsely claiming the crowd booed.
Trump attempted to encourage his supporters to vote early, but gave mixed messages.
“The whole thing is–You just have one day voting. Voter ID, paper ballots, proof that you’re a citizen of the United States, please. And you know what? You had no problems,” Trump said.
Trump, who proposed a ban on Muslim immigrants and openly made anti-Muslim statements in the past, claimed he was gaining support from Muslims citing the recent endorsement from Hamtramck, Michigan, Mayor Amer Ghalib, who was in attendance, and others.
Trump continued his anti-immigrant slur calling America a “garbage can” for the world.
“I think of a lot of things when I’m up here that are on the stupid machine, isn’t it nice to have a president that doesn’t need a fricking teleprompter?” Trump said.
-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh, Lalee Ibssa and Soo Rin Kim
Oct 26, 4:21 PM
Harris talks about reproductive care with Michigan doctors
Vice President Kamala Harris visited a local doctor’s office in Portage, Michigan, to spotlight reproductive rights before her rally in Kalamazoo on Saturday.
Harris gave remarks and heard from health care providers and medical students while there, thanking and noting that because of the Dobbs decision, America is in a “health care crisis.”
Harris went on to ask questions of the attendees who shared their thoughts on a possible national abortion ban under former President Donald Trump.
“We represent not only a safety net for our region here in the Midwest, but over the last 18 months, we’ve seen an influx of patients that are coming, particularly from the south and the Southeast because of care deserts and already restrictive abortion bans,” Dr. Ashley Sanderson said.
-ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow and Will McDuffie
Oct 26, 3:34 PM
Biden woos union members at Pittsburgh events
President Joe Biden hit the campaign trail in Pittsburgh on Saturday and courted union members.
Speaking at a union get-out-the-vote event hosted by LiUNA (Laborers’ International Union of North America), Biden made the pitch to members that this is the “most important election of our lifetime” and drew a stark contrast between former President Donald Trump’s and Vice President Kamala Harris’ stances on labor.
Biden sharply criticized Trump’s stance on labor, saying that it’s in the interest of labor unions to defeat him while also making the case that Harris has the back of middle-class Americans and union workers.
“He doesn’t give a damn about union workers or any workers for that matter. He views unions as getting in the way of the accumulation of wealth for individuals,” the president said.
Biden later went to the Allegheny County Labor Council Headquarters along with Sen. John Fetterman to greet and thank volunteers who were rallying.
The president walked in with pizza boxes for volunteers who clapped, kissed the hand of one volunteer and then took a selfie with another while Fetterman photobombed in the background.
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart
Oct 26, 1:09 PM
Harris to visit doctor’s office to highlight reproductive rights
Vice President Harris will visit a doctor’s office in Portage, Michigan, on Saturday to continue her focus on reproductive rights before rallying with Michelle Obama, according to her campaign.
“She will meet with Michigan healthcare providers and medical students and discuss how Michiganders’ reproductive rights are directly threatened by Trump’s plans to ban abortion nationwide,” the campaign said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Fritz Farrow
Oct 26, 12:10 PM
Trump claims abortion has ‘dropped way down’ as an issue for voters
As Vice President Kamala Harris seeks to highlight abortion rights as a top issue this election, former President Donald Trump claimed Saturday that abortion is no longer front and center for voters.
In a new Truth Social post, Trump reiterated his abortion policy, suggesting the issue been left to the states.
“Abortion has dropped way down as an issue. States are already giving it to the PEOPLE to Vote, which is what everyone wanted,” Trump posted ahead of his rally in Michigan.
Recent polls have shown that abortion and reproductive rights are among one of the key issues for voters.
A survey released by KFF earlier this month showed that abortion has emerged as the most important issue in the November election for women under 30.
-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh, Lalee Ibssa and Soo Rin Kim
Oct 26, 12:27 PM
Over 38M votes already cast as early voting open in all states
Over 38 million votes have been cast through early voting methods as of Saturday morning, according to data from the Election Lab at the University of Florida.
Over 20 million of those votes came from mail ballots while the remainder have been cast as in-person early voting ballot sites, according to the data.
All 50 states and the District of Columbia have begun early voting.
Among the states that commenced their early voting option this weekend is Michigan a key battleground state that is opening in person poll sites for the first time.
Though voting had begun in some counties earlier, it will now be available to everybody across the state as of Saturday.
Oct 26, 1:31 AM
Trump says judges ‘didn’t have what it took’ to overturn 2020 election
Former President Donald Trump sat down for the Joe Rogan podcast for three hours Friday evening for a freewheeling conversation about issues ranging from the economy to the environment to the stakes of the upcoming election as well taking the opportunity to relitigate the 2020 one, partially blaming judges for not overturning the 2020 election results.
Trump got combative with Rogan when Rogan asked why Trump didn’t publish comprehensive evidence of fraud he claims was going on in 2020. Trump said that he did, but falsely argued he lost because judges “didn’t have what it took.”
“The judges don’t want to touch it. They would say, you don’t have standing,” Trump said. “They didn’t rule on the merits. They ruled the merits never got there. The judges didn’t have what it took to turn over an election.”
Trump once again pushed for single day voting and paper ballots, spreading fears about voting machines as people head to the polls.
“Right now, we have the sophisticated machine that goes up to heaven. It goes all over the place and down and around, and they say we’ll need two weeks to figure out who the hell won the election,” Trump said. “Unless you have paper ballots, it can never be an honest election. That’s a big statement. We should go to paper ballots.”
Trump also said that if Harris loses the election it’ll be because of the Democrats not holding a primary and choosing Gov. Tim Walz as vice president.
Oct 26, 1:15 AM
Trump slams Harris for ‘partying’ with Beyoncé instead of campaigning
Former President Donald Trump bashed Vice President Kamala Harris for “partying” instead of campaigning at his rally on Friday evening.
“You know where she is tonight? She’s out partying. So Israel is attacking, we got a war going on and she’s out partying,” Trump claimed as Beyoncé walked on stage in Houston, Texas at Harris’ rally. “At least we’re working to make America great again. That’s what we’re doing.”
Later, Trump repeated a similar charge saying, “Nobody is in charge. Joe Biden is asleep, and Kamala is at a dance party with Beyoncé.”
“Can you believe that she’s out celebrating? You know that? She’s – How do you celebrate when you’re down by like a lot. Do they realize it?” Trump asked the crowd.
