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Michelle Obama's pro-abortion message in her speech in Michigan was a perfect rebuttal to Tucker Carlson

With just a week to go before Election Day, the news cycle is moving at a rapid pace. It is easier than usual for the story of one campaign event to be replaced by the next.

But former first lady Michelle Obama's message to men on Saturday — and its not-so-subtle allusions to the misogyny that underlies the MAGA movement — deserves close consideration.

In many ways, the former first lady's speech in Kalamazoo, Michigan, refuted Tucker Carlson's crude comments last week at Donald Trump's rally in Duluth, Georgia, where he favorably compared the Republican presidential candidate to abusive fathers. Trump and Vance relied on hypermasculine anger to campaign. That's why Obama's speech was forceful in describing some men's support for Trump, whom she aptly described as “a predator convicted of sexual abuse,” as aiding and abetting an “assault” on women's safety.

She said:

For the men who love us, let me just try to paint a picture of what it will feel like if America – the richest nation on earth – continues to deprive its women of basic necessities. And how it will affect every single woman in your life.

The former first lady spoke of the “chilling effect” that abortion restrictions have on the US Entirety of women's health:

We will see more doctors hesitant or afraid to provide life-saving treatment because they fear arrest; more medical students are even reconsidering studying women's health at all; More and more gynecology clinics do not have enough doctors to meet demand and are closing their doors. Countless women in communities across the country have no place to go for primary gynecological care, which in turn leaves millions of us at risk of undiagnosed medical problems such as cervical and uterine cancer. This is real.

Obama also characterized acts of protest such as suspending the election or electing a third-party presidential candidate — which effectively support the scenarios she described — as acts of anger with real-life consequences. She said:

I realize there are many angry, disillusioned people out there upset about the slow pace of change, and I understand. It's reasonable to be frustrated. We all know that we still have a lot to do in this country. But to anyone out there thinking about sitting out this election or voting for Donald Trump or a third-party candidate in protest because you're fed up, let me warn you: your anger does not exist in a vacuum. If we don't get this choice right, your wife, your daughter, your mother, we women will become collateral damage to your anger.

Young men vulnerable to this kind of appeal from conservatives are often treated with kid gloves, as if they lack agency in their decision to join a blatantly sexist movement. In my view, it is rare that approval of this appeal is presented as a form of abuse by politicians. But Obama didn't duck:

As men, are you ready to look the women and children you love in the eyes and tell them that you supported this attack on our security? And to the women listening: We have every right to demand that the men in our lives do better for us. We must use our voices to make these decisions clear to the men we love – our lives are worth more than their anger and disappointment. And we are more than just baby vessels.

Obama also spoke of men who are domineering partners – and told women that voting is a private matter: “Regardless of your partner's political views, You You get to choose!”

That's a key distinction that domestic violence activists are highlighting this election cycle, and it also underscores the former first lady's larger point: Trump and his movement embody the right's chauvinistic attack on women, and the best way for someone to show resistance , is to vote against it.

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