(CHICAGO) — Former first lady Michelle Obama took center stage at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, along with her husband former President Barack Obama, to throw their formidable political weight behind Kamala Harris.
“Something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn’t it?” Michelle Obama said after a long standing ovation that followed her entrance at the United Center in Chicago, where she grew up and her husband began his political career.
“You know, we’re feeling it here in this arena, but it’s spreading all across this country,” she continued. “We love a familiar feeling that’s been buried too deep for far too long. You know what I’m talking about. It’s the contagious power of hope.”
The opening message was a callback to the campaign slogan that defined Barack Obama’s White House run in 2008 when he became the first Black man elected president.
Harris, who is just the second woman to ever receive a major party’s nomination for president, will try to become the first woman to serve as president.
“The anticipation, the energy, the exhilaration of once again being on the cusp of a brighter day,” Michelle Obama continued. “The chance to vanquish the demons of fear, division and hate that have consumed us and continue pursuing the unfinished promise of this great nation, the dream that our parents and grandparents fought and died and sacrificed for. America, hope is making a comeback.”
Michelle Obama remains one of the most popular figures in the Democratic Party, despite her aversion to partisan politics. Her goodwill with the party is so high that when President Joe Biden struggled in his campaign this past year, her name was floated as a possible alternative to take his place atop the ticket, even though she’s repeatedly said she would never run for office.
That star power was on display as she addressed the convention for 20 minutes. Despite maintaining a relatively low profile this election cycle, previously appearing only in a campaign video endorsing Harris after Biden dropped out of the race, the crowd was rapt during her remarks.
“My girl, Kamala Harris, is more than ready for this moment,” she said. “She is one of the most qualified people ever to seek the office of the presidency. And she is one of the most dignified.”
She sought to contrast Harris’ background and record with that of Donald Trump, who she expected to launch similar personal attacks against Harris that he did to the Obamas.
“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be Black,” she said.
“Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘Black jobs?'” she added, prompting thunderous applause from the crowd. “It’s his same old con: doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people’s lives better.”
Michelle Obama advised that while Harris’ candidacy has reenergized the party, the matchup with Trump will still be a fight — a warning similar to that issued by former Secretary Hillary Clinton in her convention speech on Monday.
“We cannot get a Goldilocks complex about whether everything is just right,” Michelle Obama said. “We cannot indulge our anxieties about whether this country will elect someone like Kamala instead of doing everything we can to get someone like Kamala elected.”
The former first lady made an appeal to all voters, regardless of political party, to stand up “stand up for what we know in our hearts is right.”
After recounting a story about Harris’ mother telling her not to complain about things but to “do something,” Michelle Obama made a similar plea to those watching to take action throughout the campaign to help Harris get elected.
“So consider this to be your official ask: Michelle Obama is asking you to do something,” she said. “Because this is going to be close. In some states, just a handful of votes in every precinct could decide the winner. So we need to vote in numbers that erase any doubt. We need to overwhelm any effort to suppress us.
“Our fate is in our hands,” she concluded.
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