Former US First Lady Michelle Obama has expressed concern about possible restrictions on women’s rights if Donald Trump wins a second term in office. During a speech at a campaign event in Michigan with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, Obama called on Americans to realise the risks of the upcoming election, The Washington Post reports.
“If we don’t make the right choices in this election, your wives, your daughters, your mothers, we as women could be collateral damage,” Michelle Obama said. She also warned against women becoming “targets of frustration” for men who vote out of frustration or do not participate in elections at all.
The former first lady also addressed restrictions that force women to travel to other states to access basic healthcare. “We are not just people who give birth to children – we deserve to have control over our own bodies,” Obama said, referring to the restrictions on abortion that followed the repeal of federal abortion rights by the conservative majority of the Supreme Court formed by Trump.
Democrats are in favour of restoring the federal right to abortion, while Republicans propose to leave this decision to the competence of individual states.
Obama also drew attention to the double standard faced by Kamala Harris, the US vice president and candidate in the next election cycle, compared to Trump. “We expect her to be intelligent, to have a clear understanding of policy, to have restraint, whereas people expect nothing from Trump,” she said.
As one of the most respected figures in the US, Michelle Obama has a significant influence on voters, which could play an important role in the decisive phase before the election on 5 November. Millions of Americans have already exercised their right to vote early, and polls show that Harris and Trump are currently tied in the polls.
