Michelle Obama made a strong case for Joe Biden tonight as she called Donald Trump ‘the wrong president for our country’ and ‘clearly in over his head.’
The former first lady did not mince words when she closed out the opening night of the Democratic National Convention, giving her harshest assessment yet of the man who followed her husband into the Oval Office.
‘Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is,’ she said.
It was a rare political punch from Michelle Obama, who typically stays out of the fray.
She didn’t campaign in the 2018 election and had thus far limited her participation this year to encouraging people to vote.
She warned it can get worse under Trump in a second term.
‘So if you take one thing from my words tonight, it is this: if you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can; and they will if we don’t make a change in this election,’ she said.
She wrapped up her nearly 20 minute address with a passionate plea for Joe Biden’s candidacy.
‘If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it. I know Joe. He is a profoundly decent man, guided by faith. He was a terrific vice president. He knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic, and lead our country. And he listens. He will tell the truth and trust science. He will make smart plans and manage a good team. And he will govern as someone who’s lived a life that the rest of us can recognize,’ she said.
She also touched on Democratic fears Trump would try to delegitimize the election should Biden win.
‘We have to vote for Joe Biden in numbers that cannot be ignored. Because right now, folks who know they cannot win fair and square at the ballot box are doing everything they can to stop us from voting,’ she said.
WATCH: Michelle Obama Speech at Democratic National Convention
Trump has railed against the mail-in voting options many voters are expected to use during the coroanvirus pandemic, falsely claiming it leads to voter fraud when many studies show it does not.
Democrats fear he would not hand over the White House if Biden wins in November.
‘The only way we lose this election is if this election is rigged,’ Trump told supporters in Wisconsin today.
The former first lady’s speech, which was pre-taped at the Obamas’ Martha Vineyard home, is expected to be the second most-watched speech of the virtual convention, after Biden.
It marked her first campaign appearance for her husband’s vice president.
Her tone was the warm, friendly mom-in-chief tone she cultivated when she was first lady.
She remains one of the most popular political figures in the country.
A Biden for president campaign sign was visible behind the former first lady during her remarks.
And she wore a silver necklace that spelled out V-O-T-E.
‘Four years ago, too many people chose to believe that their votes didn’t matter. Maybe they were fed up. Maybe they thought the outcome wouldn’t be close. Maybe the barriers felt too steep,’ she said.
‘Whatever the reason, in the end, those choices sent someone to the Oval Office who lost the national popular vote by nearly 3,000,000 votes. In one of the states that determined the outcome, the winning margin averaged out to just two votes per precinct—two votes. And we’ve all been living with the consequences.’
She urged people to fill out their form for a mail-in ballot immediately.
‘This is not the time to withhold our votes in protest or play games with candidates who have no chance of winning. We have got to vote like we did in 2008 and 2012. We’ve got to show up with the same level of passion and hope for Joe Biden,’ she said.
‘We’ve got to vote early, in person if we can. We’ve got to request our mail-in ballots right now, tonight, and send them back immediately and follow-up to make sure they’re received. And then, make sure our friends and families do the same,’ she added.
She told people to put on their comfy shoes and stand in line all night if they had too.
‘We have got to grab our comfortable shoes, put on our masks, pack a brown bag dinner and maybe breakfast too, because we’ve got to be willing to stand in line all night if we have to,’ Michelle Obama said.
She painted a picture of the world her two daughters – Sasha and Malia – lived in under President Trump’s tenure.
‘They see people shouting in grocery stores, unwilling to wear a mask to keep us all safe. They see people calling the police on folks minding their own business just because of the color of their skin. They see an entitlement that says only certain people belong here, that greed is good, and winning is everything because as long as you come out on top, it doesn’t matter what happens to everyone else,’ she said.
She bemoaned the lack of empathy among people.
‘And they see what happens when that lack of empathy is ginned up into outright disdain. They see our leaders labeling fellow citizens enemies of the state while emboldening torch-bearing white supremacists. They watch in horror as children are torn from their families and thrown into cages, and pepper spray and rubber bullets are used on peaceful protestors for a photo-op,’ she said.
Michelle Obama also reference her famous quote from her 2016 convention speech, when she advised Democrats: ‘When they go low, we go high.’
‘Over the past four years, a lot of people have asked me, “When others are going so low, does going high still really work?” My answer: going high is the only thing that works, because when we go low, when we use those same tactics of degrading and dehumanizing others, we just become part of the ugly noise that’s drowning out everything else. We degrade ourselves.’ she said.
But she acknowledged going high is the ‘harder path.’
‘We degrade the very causes for which we fight. But let’s be clear: going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty. Going high means taking the harder path. It means scraping and clawing our way to that mountain top. Going high means standing fierce against hatred,’ she added.
Michelle Obama made a personal plea for Joe Biden, describing the man she knows – the former first lady and Biden are seen together above at March 2011 reception at the White House.
Trump, earlier today, called the first night of the Democrats’ program boring.
‘You want to go to a snooze?’ he asked supporters in Minnesota.
He specifically mentioned Michelle Obama’s forthcoming address.
‘You know I noticed that their convention tonight, these are all taped speeches. Michelle Obama’s speech is taped,’ Trump told supporters Monday in Minnesota. ‘Why don’t they tell me that? I’ll tape my speech next week. It’s a lot easier.’
Trump will accept his party’s nomination next Thursday, a week after the Democratic National Convention concludes.
‘I’ll make sure it’s perfecto, every word will be perfect,’ Trump went on.
Democrats have largely scrapped an in-person convention and will instead produce two hours of programming for the next four nights that will culminate with Biden accepting the Democratic nomination in his adopted hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
Republicans also are planning a mostly virtual event when their convention begins next Monday.
Michelle Obama ended the first night of the Democrats’ online gathering where the theme will be ‘We the People.’
The former first lady followed a mix of speakers that addressed a host of topics: racial injustice with a speech from Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Philonise Floyd, and Democratic Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina; the COVID pandemic with a speech from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer; and putting people over party with speeches from Republican politicians former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, former Congresswoman Susan Molinari, former Hewitt Packard CEO Meg Whitman and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders spoke right before Obama, pleading to the progressive wing of the party to come together behind Biden.
Actress Eva Longoria acted as host for the evening, introducing the speakers and segments.
The night’s imagery included Biden and his family along with a diversity of Americans of all races and gender designed to show the inclusiveness and diversity in the Democratic Party. It was part of the ‘We the People’ theme of the evening.
Family was included early on when the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Biden’s grandchildren: Natalie, Finnegan, Maisey, Robert, and Naomi.
‘I can assure you, that was not the first take!,’ Naomi Biden wrote on Twitter after their appearance. Most of the programming in the convention is pre-taped.
The Biden grandchildren were followed by a children’s choir singing the national anthem.
The choir consisted of child from each state, wearing either a red, white or blue t-shirt, joining in singing ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ including a chorus of images filled the screen, dissolving into the stars on the flag.
Also joining the convention on its first night was legendary singer Bruce Springsteen, whose songs chronicle the struggles of the American middle class, a crucial voting bloc in this year’s election.