Former President Obama joined the final stretch of the campaign Thursday with some “truths” for men, particularly black men, who he said were not as enthusiastic about Vice President Kamala Harris as they were when he ran for president ran for office.

He told a group of campaign workers in Pittsburgh that they had “a clear choice” between someone who “grew up like you, knows you,” understands the same struggles and successes, and has concrete suggestions to make life better, and ” someone who… “has consistently shown disrespect, not only to communities, but to you as an individual.”

Obama said he has a problem with men who “come up with all sorts of excuses” to sit out the election or vote for former President Trump.

“Part of it makes me think that you just don’t feel comfortable with having a woman as president and that you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for it,” he said.

He said it’s unacceptable that some men “think about sitting out or supporting someone who has denigrated you in the past because you think that’s a sign of strength, because that’s what it’s all about.” “To be a man?” Put women down?”

The comments underscore the urgency Democrats feel in an election that is still virtually a back-and-forth with less than a month to go. Pennsylvania is the largest of seven battleground states that are tied in the polls and are likely to win the election.

The same polls show Harris with a large lead among female voters but trailing Trump among men. Harris overwhelmingly leads among black men, but Trump has courted her and polls suggest Harris still has work to do to motivate them to vote. Her impact could be particularly strong in Pennsylvania and Georgia, where both campaigns are making concerted efforts to appeal to her.

Trump may not have helped his own case on Thursday when he disparaged the majority-black city in Detroit.

“Our whole country is going to end up like Detroit if she is elected president,” Trump said of Harris at the Detroit Economic Club. “We will not let her do this to this country.”

Speaking to reporters at the Las Vegas airport on Thursday, Harris criticized Trump’s comments. “It’s great to be back in Las Vegas. … In contrast, my opponent Donald Trump has once again destroyed another great American city, Detroit.”

Trump’s comments echoed his labeling of Haiti and African countries as “shithole countries” during a White House meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in 2018. He has also falsely accused Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, of stealing cats and dogs to eat.

Obama did not directly reference those comments. But when he spoke for 45 minutes at a large rally in Pittsburgh on Thursday night, he devoted most of his speech to the contrast between the personal qualities of the two candidates.

“It’s not just about policies that are on the ballot,” Obama said. “It’s about values ​​and it’s about character.”

Obama pointed to Harris’ stance on abortion, the Affordable Care Act and economic programs designed to help low-income people buy homes. He portrayed Trump as an old, rich guy who complained and only cared about cutting taxes for people like him and who blamed all of the country’s problems on immigrants. He criticized the former president for lying to recent hurricane victims about the federal government’s relief efforts.

“If you had a family member who behaved like that, you might still love them, but you would tell them, ‘You have a problem,'” Obama said. “And you wouldn’t put him in charge of anything.”

“And yet, when Donald Trump lies or cheats or completely disrespects our Constitution, when he calls prisoners of war losers or fellow citizens vermin, people find excuses,” Obama continued. “They think it’s fine. They think at least he owns the libraries.”