Michelle Obama Did Not Hold Back in Her DNC Speech

Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux for New York Magazine

The Democratic National Convention kicked off on Monday in Chicago with the energy of a party revitalized following the passing of the torch from President Joe Biden to his running mate, Vice-President Kamala Harris. However, the remaining days of the gathering will likely be judged on a new scale: Before Michelle Obama and After Michelle Obama.

On Tuesday, the former First Lady received the strongest applause of the convention so far as she took the stage, noting the recent change in enthusiasm within the party with a nod to her husband Barack Obama’s first campaign for president. “America, hope is making a comeback,” she said.

In her remarks, Obama sought to draw a clear contrast between Harris and Donald Trump, calling the vice-president one of the “most dignified” people to seek the presidency.

“Kamala has shown her allegiance to this nation. Not by spewing anger and bitterness, but by living a life of service, and always pushing the doors of opportunity open to others,” she said. “She understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth.”

Obama has spoken at every Democratic convention since her husband became the nominee in 2008, but Tuesday’s speech seemed to strike a new tone for the originator of the “When they go low, we go high” catchphrase. She appeared to unload years worth of resentment against Trump, the man who built his political career by promoting racist falsehoods that questioned the legitimacy of her husband, the nation’s first Black president.

“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black,” Obama said.

Obama then turned a familiar Trump campaign trail line, an anti-immigration jibe, against him to thunderous applause. “Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘Black jobs’?” she said, in clear reference to Harris, who would become the first Black woman president if elected in November.

She ended her rousing remarks with a warning against complacency, telling the crowd to stay engaged and “do something,” words that they echoed back to her in response. It’s reminiscent of concerns voiced by Harris herself, who has said publicly that she still considers herself and her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, the underdogs in the race despite breaking fundraising records and leading in polls.

“This election is going to be close. In some states, just a handful — listen to me — 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,” Obama said. “Our fate is in our hands.”