WASHINGTON – Former US President Donald Trump said that Mrs Michelle Obama had made a “big mistake” by criticising him, as he responded on Oct 28 for the first time to her recent searing comments about his mental state.

       “I always tried to be so nice and respectful,” said Trump, who in 2011 spent weeks spreading the lie that Mr Barack Obama, the country’s first black president, was actually born in Kenya, with the insinuation being that he was therefore illegitimately in office.

       He added: “She opened up a little bit of a box.”

       Trump made the comments at a rally in Atlanta, in response to what Mrs Michelle Obama, the former first lady, said about him while campaigning on Oct 26 for Vice-President Kamala Harris in Michigan.

       At that event, Mrs Obama said some voters were ignoring Trump’s “gross incompetence”.

       She said Trump had displayed “erratic behaviour” and “obvious mental decline”, and noted that he had been found “liable for sexual abuse” in a civil case and that the former president was now a felon.

       “She was nasty,” Trump said, adding: “That was a big mistake that she made.”

       Not long after that line, Trump attacked Ms Harris as a “hater”.

       The crowd at the McCamish Pavilion on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta began chanting: “Lock her up! Lock her up!”

       Such chants have now become more frequent occurrences as both anti-Harris taunts at Trump rallies and as anti-Trump chants at Ms Harris’ events.

       They were first used by crowds at Trump’s 2016 campaign events in reference to Mrs Hillary Clinton, his Democratic presidential rival at the time.

       Trump encouraged those chants back then.

       But on Oct 28 in Atlanta, Trump, who has been vowing to prosecute various political foes in recent weeks, listened for a few seconds before telling the crowd: “Be nice.” He said he simply wanted to win the election.

       An aide to Mrs Obama did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

       Trump has repeatedly visited Georgia, where early voting has been robust.

       Republicans say they believe the state is trending favourably for Trump.

       He has repaired a fractured relationship with the state’s Republican Governor, Mr Brian Kemp, whom he had repeatedly attacked, and appeared in the state after a recent storm caused widespread damage.

       But Georgia has a large black population, and the Obamas, who remain popular figures among Democrats, have been working to boost turnout there.

       Ms Harris appeared with Mr Obama and rock star Bruce Springsteen at an event in Atlanta last week, and Mr Barack Obama and Springsteen appeared in Philadelphia on Oct 28 night to drum up support for Ms Harris. NYTIMES