Former first lady Michelle Obama declared that “hope is returning” at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago as she offered heartfelt praise for Vice President Kamala Harris and harsh condemnation of Donald Trump.
“There’s something wonderfully magical in the air, isn’t there?” the former first lady said after taking the stage inside the United Center where she received a hero’s welcome.
“Not just here in this area, but it’s spreading across this country that we love, a familiar feeling that’s been buried too deep for too long. You know what I’m talking about? It’s the contagious power of hope.”
The former first lady invoked hope as a reminder of her husband, former President Obama’s, historic presidential campaign. Obama gave Harris a resounding endorsement, calling her “ready for this moment.”
“Their story is your story. It’s my story. It’s the story of the vast majority of Americans trying to build a better life,” he said.
Former first lady Michelle Obama was hailed as a hero at the Democratic National Convention, where she delivered a brutal attack on former President Donald Trump.
Obama first sidestepped Harris’ Republican opponent, Trump, before attacking him directly by name with a series of scathing insults that were perhaps the cruelest rebuttal to the Republican presidential nominee at the convention to date.
“Kamala has demonstrated her loyalty to this nation not by spewing anger and bitterness, but by living a life of service and always opening the doors of opportunity for others,” he said.
“If we fail a company or drown in a crisis, we won’t get a second, third or fourth chance,” he said. “If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top.”
He warned that he knows what’s coming next and that there will be those who will try to distort Harris’s truth.
“Unfortunately, my husband and I know something about this issue,” she said. “For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people afraid of us,” she said.
‘His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated and successful people who also happened to be black.’
“Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently looking for might be one of those ‘black jobs’?” he asked.
The crowd in the arena went absolutely crazy in response to his impressive takedown.
Michelle Obama criticized Donald Trump with this phrase: “Who is going to tell him that the job he is currently looking for could be one of those ‘jobs for blacks’?”
“It’s the same old scam: doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually improve people’s lives,” he continued.
He argued that “doing it on a small scale is petty” and called it unhealthy and unpresidential.
Obama gave a ringing endorsement to Harris, saying that she and Harris “built their lives on the same core values” and praising her and her running mate Tim Walz as “good, big-hearted people.”
“She is one of the most qualified people ever to run for president, and she is one of the most worthy, a tribute to her mother, my mother and probably your mother as well,” he said.
But the former first lady did not just praise the Democratic presidential candidate, she warned that Democrats face an uphill battle and a tight race. The former first lady used her speech as a call to action.
“No, it’s up to us, all of us, to be the solution we’re looking for. It’s up to all of us to be the antidote to all the darkness and division,” he said.
He said “our destiny is in our own hands” and urged Democrats to “work as if our lives depend on it” until Election Day.
Michelle Obama is one of the most beloved members of the Democratic Party. Many expected the former first lady to run for office, although she has always avoided politics.
The former first lady hugs her husband, former President Obama, before his speech at the Democratic National Convention
Obama was a superstar at Chicago’s United Center. She is one of the most beloved Democrats in the party, if not the most beloved. Many expected her to run for president at some point.
But the former first lady could be one of the most powerful advocates for Harris and Democrats without running.
Her message was so well received that when she went to introduce her husband, the former president, he joked that he was willing to do so “even if I’m the only person stupid enough to speak right after Michelle Obama.”
As Obama spoke, Harris and Walz were just 90 miles away in Milwaukee, where they were holding another packed rally in the swing state of Wisconsin, the same place where Republicans held their convention last month.