Obama rips Trump, chides Black men over 'excuses' for not voting for Harris
Former President Barack Obama sternly chided Black men over “excuses” to not vote for Vice President Kamala Harris during a stop at a campaign field office on Thursday in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood ahead of his rally, saying he finds them sitting out or voting for former President Donald Trump “not acceptable.”
The event kicked off a blitz through battleground states as Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign deploys its strongest political asset headed into the final stretch.
“I remember when I was running for the U.S. Senate there were people who didn't think I could win that and, certainly, when I was running for president, people like, ‘what's his name, again?’ And ‘that's not going to happen,’” Obama said. “And that included, by the way -- in our own communities there were people who were skeptical. They liked me and they really liked Michelle, but they thought, ‘well, that's not going to happen,’ because sometimes we have a tendency to put a ceiling on ourselves.”
With early voting already underway in critical battleground Pennsylvania, campaign officials told ABC News Obama's focus over the next few weeks would be getting out the vote, inspiring people, and setting up the stakes of the presidential election.
“The good news here is we've got an outstanding woman of high character and extraordinary accomplishment who has already been the vice president of the United States,” the former president added. “So, we don't have to imagine whether it can happen. It can happen, but it will be dependent on our willingness to do the work.”
However, Obama said he needed to “speak some truths,” particularly with Black men because he’s hearing “we have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running.”
“Now, I also want to say that that seems to be more pronounced with the brothers. When you have a choice that is this clear. When, on the one hand, you have somebody who grew up like you, knows you, went to college with you, understands the struggles and pain and joy that comes from those experiences, who's had to work harder and do more and overcome and achieves the second highest office in the land and is putting forward concrete proposals to directly address the things that are vital in our neighborhoods and our communities,” Obama said, listing housing to affordable prescription drugs, education and entrepreneurship.
“And that's all one side. And on the other side, you have someone who has consistently shown disregard, not just for the communities, but for you as a person, and you're thinking about sitting out?” Obama continued. “And you're coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses? I've got a problem with that because -- because part of it makes me think, and I'm speaking to men directly now, part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren't feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you're coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that."
"They've been raising us and working and having our backs, and when we get in trouble and the system's not working for us, they're the ones who are out there marching and protesting and -- and so now you're thinking about sitting out or even supporting somebody who has a history of denigrating you because you think that's a sign of strength? Because that's what being a man is? Putting women down?” Obama charged. “That's not acceptable.”
Obama also took the opportunity to rip Trump about "intentionally trying to deceive people in their most desperate and vulnerable moments."
"We had one of the deadliest hurricanes in American history,” Obama said, later adding, “Amazing people devastated. Hundreds of people killed and President Biden and Vice President Harris were down there meeting with local officials and comforting families, asking how they could help. And Donald Trump at a rally just started making up stories about the Biden administration withholding aid from Republican areas and siphoning off aid to give to undocumented immigrants. Just made this stuff up.”
“Everybody knew it wasn't true," Obama continued. "Even local Republicans said it was not true. And now the people of Florida are dealing with another devastating storm. And I want you to watch what happens over the next few days. Just like the last time, you're going to have leaders who try to help, and then they're -- you have a guy who will just lie about it to score political points. And this has consequences because people are afraid, and they've lost everything, and now they're trying to figure out, how do I apply for help? And -- and -- and some of them may be discouraged from getting the help they need.”
“The idea of intentionally trying to deceive people in their most desperate and vulnerable moments. And my question is, when did that become okay?”
Obama also defined the stakes as four more years of Harris' opponent, former President Donald Trump.
"We don't need four more years of arrogance and bumbling and bluster and division," he told the crowd. "America is ready to turn the page. We are ready for a better story, one that helps us work together instead of turning against each other. Pennsylvania."
He also made a push for the reelection of Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, who introduced him on the stage.
While voters at the Obama rally were fired up for Harris, and the campaign is hoping to carry the torch from the political coalition that Obama started, it was a starkly different picture on the streets of Pittsburgh.
Several voters said they haven't registered to vote and don't plan to vote this November.
Cameron Lane, a 26-year-old from Pittsburgh, said he's never voted before and that there's virtually nothing that would persuade him to go to the polls this time.
"I don't like the options," Lane said.
Nikki Marsh said she's going to vote, but is not even telling her family or friends who she's voting for because of how politically divided they are.
Marsh said politics is a "very sensitive subject in the community" and doesn't believe at this point that anything is going to sway voters to change their minds, regardless of any big-name endorsement. For instance, she didn't believe Harris endorsements from political figures like Obama or Liz Cheney would move people one way or another.
Ivan Gil-Silva, who owns a restaurant in Pittsburgh, said he's voting for the first time this year and he's voting for former President Donald Trump.
"I have a business, and I've been struggling heavily for the past four years. It's been awful," Gil-Silva said. "My neighborhood's become absolutely dangerous. I've never seen this many homeless people in my life. In 20 years I've been in Pittsburgh. I've never seen it be like this."
While Gil-Silva says he isn't a fan of Trump as a person, he says at least "everything was peaceful" when he was in office. Gil-Silva called Harris a "joke," saying she has no "substance."
But Harris supporters at the rally site said they remained "hopeful."
"Cautiously optimistic. I'm very excited for her campaign," Sam Carew-Jones said. "I'm very excited for her to win. It's going to be close. I'm holding my breath."
ABC News' Michelle Stoddart and Fritz Farrow contributed to this report.
