Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Lakewood Amphitheater, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP/AP

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Jacquelyn Martin/AP/AP

ATLANTA — Vice President Kamala Harris said Saturday that Republican former President Donald Trump was “cruel” for the way he spoke about the grieving family of a Georgia mother who died after waiting 20 hours for a hospital to treat her complications from an abortion pill to deal with, as she placed fighting restrictions on reproductive care at the center of her pitch to voters.

At a rally in Atlanta, Harris blamed Amber Thurman’s death on Georgia’s abortion restrictions that went into effect after the Supreme Court, with three Trump-appointed justices, overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. It comes as Harris looks to the issue to build support for Democrats, who have pledged to restore the nation’s right to abortion if they win the White House and enough seats in Congress.

“Donald Trump continues to refuse to take responsibility, any responsibility, for the pain and suffering he has caused,” Harris said.

Thurman’s story is the focus of one of Harris’ final campaign ads, and her family attended her rally in Atlanta, with her mother holding a photo of her daughter from the audience. Harris showed a clip of Trump saying during a recent Fox News Channel town hall, when asked if the Thurman family had participated in a separate media call, “We will get better ratings, I promise.”

“A grieving family, a grieving family, sharing the memory of their daughter with our nation. Where’s the compassion?” she asked. “What we continually see from Donald Trump is exactly what that clip shows,” Harris added. “He’s belittling their grief and making it about himself and his ratings. It’s cruel.”

Before Harris became the Democratic nominee, Ian Summer, 19, planned to vote against Trump — but he wasn’t enthusiastic about President Joe Biden. Since Harris entered the race, “she’s brought a lot of energy,” Summer said. Summer is concerned about restrictions on abortion access under Trump. “The fact that I could have a woman in the future who might not be able to get the care she needs, that’s very scary,” he said.

Early voting is also taking place in Georgia. More than 1.2 million ballots have been cast in person or by mail. Democrats hope an extensive organizing effort will give Harris a boost against Trump in the final weeks of the campaign. Harris was referring to the fact that former President Jimmy Carter recently voted by mail just days after his 100th birthday.

“If Jimmy Carter can vote early, so can you,” Harris said.

Roderick Williams, 56, brought his three daughters to Harris’ rally in Atlanta. His youngest daughter was born around the time former President Barack Obama took office, and he hopes they can witness history again by seeing Harris become the first Black woman to become president.

“It’s important for them to see that anything is possible,” Williams said.

Harris was joined at the rally by hometown music icon Usher, who once again tapped into star power as she looks to draw voters to the polls. Earlier Saturday, she appeared with Lizzo in the singer’s hometown of Detroit on Saturday, marking the start of in-person voting and showering the city with praise after Trump recently discredited it.

“The best things are made in Detroit. Coney Dogs, Faygo and Lizzo,” the singer joked to a crowd, pointing to herself after listing the hot dogs and sodas the city is famous for.

Lizzo attends a campaign event for Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris at Western International High School in Detroit on Saturday, October 19, 2024.

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She said it was time to “show some respect for Detroit’s name,” noting that the city had revolutionized the auto and music industries and adding that she had already voted for Harris because early voting was ‘a power movement’.

Praise for the Motor City came after Trump, the former president, insulted the company during a recent campaign stop. And Harris continued the theme, saying of her campaign, “Like the people of Detroit, we have courage, we have excellence, we have history.”

With her arms wide open as she took the stage, Harris showed the crowd that she was singing a “Detroit vs. Everybody’ T-shirt that the owner of the company that produces them gave her during a previous stop in town earlier in the week. She also moved around the stage during her speech with a handheld microphone, without using a teleprompter.

More than 1 million Michigan residents have already voted by mail in the Nov. 5 election, and Harris predicted that turnout in Detroit for early voting would be strong.

‘Who is the capital of record production?’ Harris asked as he implored the crowd to set new highs for early voting numbers. “We’re going to break some records here in Detroit today.”

She labeled Trump unstable: “Someone just has to watch his rallies, when you’re not really sure how to vote.”

‘We won’t get these seventeen days back. On Election Day, we don’t want to have any regrets,” the vice president said.

Lizzo also told the audience, “Madam Commander in Chief has a nice ring to it.”

“This is the swing state of all swing states, so every last vote here counts,” the singer said. Then, referencing her song of the same name, Lizzo added, “If you ask me if America is ready for its first female president, I have only one thing to say: “About damn time!”

Michael Whatley, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said in a statement that Harris needed Lizzo “to hide the fact that Michiganders felt good under President Trump — real wages were higher, prices were lower and everyone was better off. ”

Talona Johnson, a product manager from Rochester, Michigan, attended Harris’ meeting and said Harris “and her team are doing the things necessary to make sure people are aware.”

‘I believe she is telling the truth. She’s trying to help people,” said Johnson, who said she planned to vote for Harris and saw women’s rights as her top concern.

“I don’t necessarily agree with everything she puts out there, but she’s better than the alternative,”

In comments to reporters before the meeting, Harris said she was in Detroit “to thank all the people for the work they’re doing to help organize and register people to vote and get them out to vote today. She also called Detroit “a great American city” with “a lot of hardworking people who have courage and ambition and deserve to be respected.”

The vice president was asked whether the Biden administration’s full support of Israel in the war with Hamas in Gaza could hurt its support in Michigan. Dearborn, near Detroit, is the largest Arab-majority city in the country.

“It’s never been easy,” Harris said of Middle East policy. “But that doesn’t mean we’re giving up.”