Describing the “contagious power of hope,” Michelle Obama made a call for values of “work and scrape and sacrifice” to be honored in the politics of the country.
“To be honest, I’m realizing that until recently, I have mourned the dimming of that hope. Maybe you’ve experienced the same feelings, a deep pit in my stomach, a palpable sense of dread about the future,” Obama told the Democratic national convention in Chicago.
The former first lady mourned her mother Marian Robinson with her speech – “the woman who showed me the meaning of hard work, humility and decency”, who died in May aged 86.
“She was glad to do the thankless, unglamorous work that for generations has strengthened the fabric of this nation,” Obama said.
Obama noted the sacrifices that Kamala Harris’s mother made to come to the United States from India, and how she instilled values of service and sacrifice in the Democratic nominee.
“Kamala Harris is more than ready for this moment,” Obama said. “No one has the monopoly on what it means to be an American. No one. Only Kamala Harris truly understand the unseen labor and unwavering commitment that has always made America great.”
Obama, a former hospital executive in Chicago, took direct and indirect swipes at the Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump, who has frequently antagonized the Obamas. Perhaps most notably, Trump was outspoken during Barack Obama’s campaign for president in 2008 about a racist movement that falsely claimed Obama was ineligible to be president because he was not a natural-born citizen of the United States.
Harris, Michelle Obama said, “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. If we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don’t get a second, third or fourth chance. If things don’t go our way, we don’t have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead. If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top.”
“Who is going to tell him [Trump] that the job that he is seeking might be one of those Black jobs,” Obama said, to thunderous applause.
Obama derided the politics of petty spite, of book banning and misogynistic attacks before introducing her husband.
“Let me tell you, going small is never the answer,” Obama said.