CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 20: Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks on stage during the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 20, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Delegates, politicians, and Democratic Party supporters are gathering in Chicago, as current Vice President Kamala Harris is named her party's presidential nominee. The DNC takes place from August 19-22. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Michelle Obama fired up the crowd at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night.
The former first lady drew heavily on the concept of hope when speaking of the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris (D), which was how her husband, Barack Obama, framed his race in 2008.
“Hope is making a comeback,” Obama told the crowd.
Obama also aimed to draw a contrast between those with modest upbringings, such as herself, her husband and Harris, and those who grew up wealthy, including former President Donald Trump.
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“Most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward,” Obama said. She continued by telling the crowd that most people could not depend on “an escalator waiting to take us to the top,” a reference to Trump’s announcing his presidential campaign in the Trump Tower in 2015.
Obama continued to criticize Trump to the packed crowd at the United Center, speaking on “the affirmative action of generational wealth,” which reminded the audience of Trump’s inherited wealth, as well as the work done by the GOP to discredit affirmative action programs that support minority communities, especially black communities.
Obama continued by warning the crowd of the “Goldilocks complex,” questioning whether potential candidates are right about every issue. She told the crowd it was too risky to worry about single policies when they needed to focus and “do something.”
This statement seemed to be directed at pro-Palestine protesters who have been slow to support Harris due to the Biden Administration’s actions supporting Israel in the war in Gaza.
The former first lady noted that hope that is alive in the party while referencing her mother, who died in May.
“We have the power to marry our hope with our action,” Obama said. “We have the power to pay forward the…sacrifice of our mother and fathers and all those who came before us.”
Obama is currently a best-selling author and is incredibly popular in her party, sometimes showing higher approval ratings than her husband.
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