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Story highlights
Michelle Obama addressed the DNC Monday night
The first lady is a powerful surrogate to Clinton
(CNN) —
Michelle Obama cast the presidential race as one between a positive role model for children – in Hillary Clinton – and a damaging one – in Donald Trump – in the marquee speech on the Democratic National Convention’s opening night.
The first lady never mentioned Trump by name, but leveraging her popularity, she made a rare, if not unprecedented, foray into partisan politics to knock the Republican nominee.
Obama condemned “the hateful language that we hear from public figures on TV,” saying that “our motto is, when they go low, we go high.”
And in a shot at Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan, Obama discussed raising her children in a White House that was built by slaves.
“Don’t let anyone tell you that this country isn’t great. This right now is the greatest country on earth,” the first lady said.
Obama electrified the crowd at the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia, taking the stage just after 10 p.m. ET and – in a departure from the political attacks on display all day – making the case that, because of her character and temperament, Clinton is the role model she’d like her daughters to see in the Oval Office.
Even Trump, who Obama was implicitly criticizing, praised her remarks.
It was a remarkable embrace of the prime-time stage for Obama, who was reluctant about the spotlight that came when her husband, then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, launched his presidential campaign against Clinton in 2007.
“To understand the journey she’s taken as a reluctant conscript on the public scene, to come here and command that stage the way she did tonight was extraordinary – and I think did for Hillary Clinton what no one else has done to this point,” said David Axelrod, a top Obama strategist on the 2008 campaign and now a CNN political commentator.
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, takes the stage before giving a speech Thursday at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
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John Locher/AP
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Clinton walks on stage with her running mate, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine.
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J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Balloons fall from the ceiling of the Wells Fargo Center after Clinton's speech.
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Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Clinton arrives for her speech.
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Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
During her speech, Clinton ripped into Republican nominee Donald Trump for his convention pitch "I alone can fix it." She said: "He's forgetting every last one of us. Americans don't say: 'I alone can fix it.' We say: 'We'll fix it together.' "
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Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Clinton acknowledges the crowd before her speech.
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ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Clinton's husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, applauds along with their daughter, Chelsea.
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Carolyn Kaster/AP
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Clinton is the first woman in U.S. history to lead the presidential ticket of a major political party. "It's true," she said in her speech, "I sweat the details of policy -- whether we're talking about the exact level of lead in the drinking water in Flint, Michigan; the number of mental health facilities in Iowa; or the cost of your prescription drugs. ... Because it's not just a detail if it's your kid, if it's your family. It's a big deal. And it should be a big deal to your President."
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SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Clinton gives a thumbs-up to the crowd.
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SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Clinton embraces her daughter before speaking.
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Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Bill Clinton becomes emotional Thursday as he listens to Chelsea introduce her mother.
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Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Chelsea Clinton said her mother is a "listener and a doer, a woman driven by compassion, by faith, by kindness, a fierce sense of justice, and a heart full of love."
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Alex Wong/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Singer Katy Perry performs "Rise" on Thursday.
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Khizr Khan holds his personal copy of the U.S. Constitution as he speaks Thursday. His son, Humayun S. M. Khan, was one of the 14 American Muslims who have died serving their country since 9/11. In his remarks, Khan criticized the Republican nominee: "If it was up to Donald Trump, (my son) never would have been in America. ... Donald Trump, you are asking Americans to trust you with our future. Let me ask you: Have you even read the U.S. Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy."
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SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talks at the convention on Thursday.
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks to the crowd at the Wells Fargo Center.
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John Taggart/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Delegates cheer on Thursday.
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
LGBT rights activist Sarah McBride takes the stage.
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Paul Sancya/AP
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Delegates hold up signs in support of presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
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Win McNamee/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Clinton and U.S. President Barack Obama wave to the crowd Wednesday after Obama gave a speech.
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Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Obama and Clinton hug after Obama's speech.
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David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Obama and Clinton acknowledge the crowd.
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MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Clinton points to Obama as she walks on stage after his speech.
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Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Delegates stand as Obama speaks.
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Photos: The Democratic National Convention
"This year, in this election, I'm asking you to join me -- to reject cynicism, reject fear, to summon what's best in us; to elect Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States, and show the world we still believe in the promise of this great nation," Obama said.
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Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Obama told the crowd at the Wells Fargo Center that he is "more optimistic about the future of America than ever before." He contrasted it with the "pessimistic vision" of America he heard during the Republican convention last week. "There were no serious solutions to pressing problems -- just the fanning of resentment, and blame, and anger, and hate," he said.
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SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Obama said Clinton is more ready than he was to become President. "For four years, I had a front-row seat to her intelligence, her judgment and her discipline," Obama said, referring to her stint as secretary of state.
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Photos: The Democratic National Convention
The crowd welcomes Obama.
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Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Clinton's running mate, Tim Kaine, waves to the crowd along with his wife, Anne Holton, after giving a speech on Wednesday.
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Win McNamee/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
During his speech, Kaine said: "Hillary Clinton and I are compañeros del alma. We share this belief: Do all the good you can. And serve one another. Pretty simple. That's what I'm about. That's what you're about. That's what Bernie Sanders is about. That's what Joe Biden is about. That's what Barack and Michelle Obama are about. And that's what Hillary Clinton is about."
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Alex Wong/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Delegates hold posters during Kaine's speech.
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BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Kaine comes out to the stage on Wednesday.
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, right, cheers during the speech of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
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SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
"I understand the appeal of a businessman President. But Trump's business plan is a disaster in the making," said Bloomberg, an independent. He said the Republican nominee is a "risky, reckless, and radical choice."
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NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden also went after Trump, saying "this guy doesn't have a clue about the middle class -- not a clue. Actually, he has no clue, period."
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Alex Wong/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Biden walks to the podium before delivering his speech.
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Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
A delegate wears a Bernie Sanders mask on Wednesday. Sanders finished second to Clinton in the presidential primaries.
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Broadway performers sing "What the World Needs Now Is Love" on Wednesday.
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords waves to the audience before speaking on Wednesday.
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Photos: The Democratic National Convention
People hold up prints that pay respect to those who were killed in the Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting of June 2015. Two survivors of the shooting were speaking to the crowd.
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Win McNamee/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
A delegate wears stickers in support of Clinton.
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Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is escorted to the podium by his wife, Landra, on Wednesday.
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Paul Sancya/AP
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Clinton appears live on a video screen Tuesday night. Just a few hours earlier, she officially became the party's presidential nominee. She is the first woman to lead a major party's presidential ticket. "I can't believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet," she told the crowd.
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Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Actress Meryl Streep addresses the crowd before Clinton's video message. Streep said Clinton will be the first female President of the United States, "but she won't be the last."
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Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton waves to the crowd before giving a speech on Tuesday.
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Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
The former President told the crowd about how he met his wife for the first time. He also called her "the best damn change-maker I've ever met in my entire life."
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Bill Clinton arrives on stage to give his speech. In his speech, he portrayed his wife as a woman who tirelessly ran a family and a career. "She always wants to move the ball forward," he said. "That is just who she is."
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Former U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright waves to the crowd after speaking on Tuesday.
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Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean re-enacts his infamous "Dean Scream" during his speech.
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Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Actresses America Ferrera, right, and Lena Dunham walk on stage to deliver remarks.
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TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Florida delegate Bernard Jennings holds a cardboard cutout of Hillary Clinton over the face of his young son Ethan on Tuesday.
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Carolyn Kaster/AP
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
"Mothers of the Movement" -- mothers whose unarmed children have been killed by law enforcement or due to gun violence -- take the stage Tuesday.
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Actress Elizabeth Banks walks onto the stage Tuesday.
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SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders waves to the crowd after the Vermont delegation cast its roll-call votes Tuesday.
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Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Sanders smiles while attending roll call. He moved to name Clinton the official nominee.
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Photos: The Democratic National Convention
The crowd cheers after Clinton was formally nominated.
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
A delegate cries during the roll-call vote Tuesday.
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ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
A staff member tallies Alabama's votes during roll call on Tuesday.
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Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Delegates hold up signs referring to Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, the running mate of Republican nominee Donald Trump.
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Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Sanders delivers the headline speech on Monday. "I understand that many people here in this convention hall and around the country are disappointed about the final results of the nominating process," Sanders said. "I think it's fair to say that no one is more disappointed than I am. But to all of our supporters -- here and around the country -- I hope you take enormous pride in the historical accomplishments we have achieved."
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NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Sanders spoke out against Republican nominee Donald Trump and said Clinton must become President. "If you don't believe this election is important, if you think you can sit it out, take a moment to think about the Supreme Court justices that Donald Trump would nominate and what that would mean to civil liberties, equal rights and the future of our country," Sanders said.
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Paul Sancya/AP
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Sanders acknowledges the crowd at the Wells Fargo Center.
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Photos: The Democratic National Convention
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren talks to the crowd in Philadelphia. "We are not going to be Donald Trump's hate-filled America," she said. "Not now. Not ever."
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ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
First lady Michelle Obama gives a speech. "This election -- every election -- is about who will have the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of our lives," she said. "And I am here tonight because in this election, there is only one person who I trust with that responsibility -- only one person who I believe is truly qualified to be President of the United States. And that is our friend, Hillary Clinton."
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Matt Rourke/AP
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Obama waves to the crowd.
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Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
In his speech Monday, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker included a message about togetherness. "Patriotism is love of country. But you can't love your country without loving your countrymen and countrywomen," he said.
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SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Singer Paul Simon performs "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
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ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Delegates hold up signs Monday.
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BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
U.S. Sen. Al Franken appears on stage with comedian Sarah Silverman. Franken, of course, has a comedic background as well, having once starred on "Saturday Night Live."
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SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Anastasia Somoza, an advocate for people with disabilities, comes out to speak.
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SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Former pro basketball players Jason Collins, left, and Jarron Collins wave to the crowd. Jason Collins, the first openly gay player in the NBA, said he told the Clintons about his sexual orientation before coming out publicly.
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SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
A delegate wears a pin showing her support of Clinton.
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Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Delegates hold signs reading "Love trumps hate" on Monday.
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John Taggart/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
A delegate supports Sanders at the convention.
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Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Tape on a delegate's mouth makes a statement Monday about the Democratic National Committee. Recently leaked committee emails appeared to show favoritism toward Clinton in the primary race, and many Sanders supporters entered the convention upset. The controversy has caused Debbie Wasserman Schultz to step down as the committee's chairwoman at the end of the convention.
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Photos: The Democratic National Convention
Members of the media stand during the event.
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Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Symone Sanders, former national press secretary for the Bernie Sanders campaign, praised Obama’s speech for its historical significance.
“The Obamas were the first African-American First Family that we had and they did not eradicate racism in this country. We do not live in this post-racial society, where race doesn’t matter, where the struggle is not there for people of color in this country,” she told CNN’s Chris Cuomo Tuesday on “New Day.”
“And I think Michelle Obama went up on that stage and embodied everything that is great about America,” Sanders added. “She gave us hope but she also told us we still have work to do.”
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, who spoke before Obama, praised her speech for its “spirit.”
“She spoke from the heart. You felt her energy. You felt her spirit,” he said Tuesday on “New Day.”
“I think that what people expected was a speech but what they really got was a sharing, a convening of spirit. And when she talked about her kids, that really affected me.”
The first lady began discussing watching her daughters grow up in the White House – saying she remembers watching them go off to school for the first time.
“At that moment, I realized that our time in the White House would form the foundation for who they would become, and how we managed this experience could truly make or break them,” she said.
She added: “This election – every election – is about who will have the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of our lives. And I am here tonight because in this election, there is only one person who I trust with that responsibility – only one person who I believe is truly qualified to be President of the United States. And that is our friend, Hillary Clinton.”
Obama told the electrified audience that “we are always stronger together,” saying she wants a president “who will teach our children that everyone in this country matters.”
“I am here tonight because I know that that is the kind of president that Hillary Clinton will be, and that’s why in this election, I’m with her,” Obama said.
In a nod to Clinton’s historic status as the first female presumptive nominee of a major U.S. political party, she said: “Because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters, and all our sons and daughters, now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States.”
She called Clinton “a leader who will be guided every day by the love and hope and impossibly big dreams that we all have for our children.”
Temperament and experience is something Michelle Obama has been referencing a lot these days – dipping her toe into 2016 politics by taking veiled shots at Donald Trump in speeches over the past few months.
“Right now, when we’re hearing so much disturbing and hateful rhetoric, it is so important to remember that our diversity has been – and will always be – our greatest source of strength and pride here in the United States,” Mrs. Obama said at a Nowruz celebration at the White House in April.
“Here in America, we don’t give in to our fears. We don’t build up walls to keep people out,” she said during a commencement address at City College of New York this June.
Powerful surrogate
Michelle Obama is seen as having a unique and essential role to play for Clinton, key to keeping the Obama coalition of women, African Americans, Hispanics and young people engaged.
First lady Michelle Obama waves to the crowd before delivering remarks on the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 25, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images
The first lady could turn into a powerful surrogate to boost the presumptive Democratic nominee, with her high favorability ratings.
“I think Hillary Clinton is a phenomenal woman,” the first lady said when asked about her at a White House event in April, “and I’ve gotten to know her, and I think she’s made some pretty major contributions over the course of her life.”
However, she took the stage to make the case for a woman she hasn’t always supported.
During the bruising 2008 Democratic primary fight, Michelle Obama often took veiled swipes at her husband’s opponent.
“They said there was an inevitable candidate, that there was someone who was going to make this race virtually impossible. And I thought, wow, it’s over already?” Obama said in an interview with CBS in the fall of 2007, in the throes of the Democratic primary.
“So, our view is that if you can’t run your own house, you certainly can’t run the White House,” Michelle Obama said from the campaign trail in the early state of Iowa in August of 2007.
But theirs was a relationship that grew once the campaign came to a close.
Shortly after Hillary Clinton suspended her campaign and endorsed then-Sen. Barack Obama, Michelle praised Clinton for the way she came around to supporting her husband.
“From the minute after this was done, right, she has always been just cordial and open. I’ve called her. I’ve talked to her. She’s given me advice about the kids,” Obama told Larry King in October of 2008, “We’ve talked at length about this kind of stuff, how you feel, how you react. She has been amazing. She is a real pro and a woman with character.”
The convention stage is a platform that Obama is familiar with by now, delivering high-profile speeches in both the 2008 and 2012 conventions for her husband, speeches that drew heavily on the Obama family’s personal story.
“Every step of the way since that clear day, February, 19 months ago, when, with little more than our faith in each other and a hunger for change, we joined my husband, Barack Obama, on the improbable journey that has led us to this moment,” Mrs. Obama said in Denver at the DNC in 2008. “But each of us comes here also by way of our own improbable journey.”
She hit similar themes, weaving in their personal narrative, four years later.
“Barack knows the American Dream because he’s lived it and he wants everyone in this country to have that same opportunity, no matter who we are, or where we’re from, or what we look like, or who we love,” she said in 2012 in Charlotte.
