Former first lady Michelle Obama mentioned Donald Trump by name just once during her remarks at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night.
But the aim of his blistering prime-time speech, which lasted about 20 minutes, was clear from the start.
“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,” Obama said of Trump.
Time and again, the former first lady attacked the president who succeeded her husband.
She pointed to the personal attacks she and President Obama endured during their two terms, saying Trump “did everything in his power to try to make people fear us” because he felt “threatened” by two successful black people.
“Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently looking for could be one of those black jobs?” she said of Trump, referring to controversial comments the Republican presidential candidate has made during the campaign about immigrants taking “black jobs.”
The line sent the United Center crowd into a frenzy, but it wasn't Obama's only witty remark.
Speaking of the virtues of hard-working Americans, he noted, “If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect an escalator to take us to the top” — an apparent reference to the infamous June 2015 event in Manhattan that launched Trump’s first presidential campaign. In it, Trump rode a golden escalator down Trump Tower to attend a meeting where he warned that Mexico was sending rapists and other criminals across the border into the United States.
Obama began her remarks by explaining that she wasn't sure she would be able to give the speech because she was still grieving the loss of her mother, Marian Robinson, who died May 31 at age 86. There were other telling details: Obama said she had become a mother through IVF in a darker part of the speech that focused on the prospect of Trump taking back the presidency and “taking away our freedom to control our bodies.”
But she said she was also buoyed by “a familiar feeling” — the “contagious power of hope,” a reference to the word long linked to her husband’s political message.
“America, hope is returning,” he said.
Notably, however, he did not mention President Biden. Instead, Obama focused his praise on Kamala Harris, saying she and the vice president had built their lives on the same “core values” of hard work, determination and sacrifice.
“Kamala Harris is more than ready for this moment,” Obama said. “She is one of the most qualified people ever to run for president, and she is one of the most worthy.”
