Returning to Chicago, Michelle Obama revived the message of “hope” that characterized her husband Barack Obama’s historic presidential campaign, while also taking aim at the political wrecking ball that has made the country “fear” her.
The former First Lady – who is still a highly influential voice in the Democratic Party but has kept a low profile in the election campaign – issued a sharp rejection of Donald Trump’s agenda at the Democratic Party Convention on Tuesday evening.
Amid cheers from the crowd, she took the stage to deliver her penultimate speech at the United Center before that of her husband, the former president.
In a particularly poignant moment, Obama ripped into Trump’s now infamous comments about so-called “black jobs” and warned him that the role of commander in chief was indeed such a job.
“Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s looking for might be one of those black jobs?” she said, drawing laughter from the room.
“It’s still his old scam – he’s betting on ugly, misogynistic and racist lives as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that would actually improve people’s lives.”
In June, Trump sparked outrage in a CNN debate with President Joe Biden by claiming that immigrants were taking jobs away from black people.
Since then, he has faced demands to define what exactly a “black job” is and trolled by prominent Americans of color, including Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles.
Obama opened her stormy speech with more thinly veiled jabs at Trump and an urgent call to “overwhelm” the polls and vote for Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz.
“For years, Donald Trump has done everything in his power to make people afraid of us,” she said.
The Obamas were at the center of the divisions that Trump exploited during his political rise, from spreading “birther” conspiracy theories to refusing to combat the racism that was growing in his party to moving closer to “Barack Hussein Obama.”
“You see, his limited, narrow view of the world led him to feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated, successful people who happened to be black,” she said.
She told those present that Harris “has shown her commitment to this nation not by spreading anger and bitterness, but by living a life of service to others and always opening the doors of opportunity for others.”
Harris is aware that most Americans “will never benefit from positive discrimination in generational wealth,” Obama said in another allusion to Trump.
“No, we can’t change the rules, so we always win. When we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top,” she said.
While her husband praised Biden highly in his speech, Obama did not mention the president at all in her more than 20-minute speech – even though she had worked closely with him and First Lady Jill Biden for four years during the Obama administration.
Her remarks about Harris, meanwhile, were met with thunderous applause from Democrats, who are showing renewed enthusiasm for this election since Biden announced his withdrawal from the race and his support for the vice president.
But Obama warned the convention that electing Harris would “still be an uphill battle” and urged Democrats not to be “our own worst enemies” by succumbing to fear and complacency.
The former First Lady praised Harris as “more than ready for this moment” and called her “one of the most qualified people to ever seek the office of president.”
Obama also made poignant mentions of the loss of her mother, Marian Robinson, a Chicago native who died in May, and Kamala’s late mother.
“It’s up to us to remember what Kamala’s mother told her: Don’t just sit around and complain – do something!” Obama said.
