But she’s given her best performance yet at the Democrats National Convention in Philadelphia.
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Touching on the Clinton campaign’s warning of the effects of a Trump presidency on America’s children over the next eight years, Obama mentioned how she and her husband are, first and foremost, parents to two young women who were only children when they entered the White House, and the messages they had to share as vile attack piled on vile attack. Her uplifting words supported Clinton’s candidacy, focused on the progress her husband’s presidency has worked towards and called for unity within a fragmented political party.
“To understand the journey she’s taken as a reluctant conscript on the public scene, to come here and command that stage the way she did tonight was extraordinary – and I think did for Hillary Clinton what no one else has done to this point”, said David Axelrod, a top Obama strategist on the 2008 campaign and now a CNN political commentator. “Couldn’t be more proud and our country has been blessed to have her as FLOTUS”. It is, in her words, “already the greatest country on earth”.
“Today, I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves”, she said. “Because of Hillary [Clinton], my daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States”. She warned that the White House couldn’t be in the hands of someone with “a thin skin or a tendency to lash out” or someone who tells voters the country can be great again.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, who spoke before Obama, praised her speech for its “spirit”. Numerous biggest stars and heavy hitters from the party delivered prime time speeches, with Al Franken and Sarah Silverman in a duet, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker (and possible future presidential hopeful) ending with Michelle Obama, a keynote speech from Elizabeth Warren, and the final, most anticipated speech of the night from Bernie Sanders.
That’s all it took for first lady Michelle Obama to eviscerate the central theme of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. But most of the first lady’s comments were reserved, directly and obliquely, for Republican nominee Donald Trump. “I don’t think they’ll go away silently”. We urge them [our daughters] to ignore those who question their father’s citizenship or faith.
Why anyone would get on Twitter and deny slaves played a role in the construction of The White House is beyond us, but these people do exist despite things like historical records. Instead of the older-guard American stalwarts that past presidential wives have relied upon, such as Oscar de la Renta, Michelle has gone with contemporary names like Tracy Reese, Jason Wu, and Thakoon Panichgul on a number of occasions. These slaves went with the USA presidents to work in the White House because at that time Congress did not provide money for a domestic staff for the president.
She transitioned to discuss what Obamas and Clintons in the White House meant and will mean that future children will see it as a possibility for themselves.
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In what can only be described as a total “Girl Power” moment, Michelle credited Hillary for having the “guts” to “keep coming back and putting those cracks in that highest and hardest glass ceiling”, until she “finally breaks through” she said, “lifting all of us along with her”.
