Michelle Obama transcends politics, her DNC speech was ‘extraordinary moment in American life’, says Van Jones
Political analyst Van Jones praised Michelle Obama's "extraordinary" speech closing the first night of the Democratic convention and said she was "one of the most effective communicators" in the country with the way she managed to hammer home her message.
Jones, 51, who served as former President Barack Obama's Special Advisor for Green Jobs in 2009 spoke about Michelle in glowing terms and said her speech managed to capture all the emotions Americans were feeling during such tumultuous times.
"It was an extraordinary speech," he said during an appearance on CNN. "She’s beautiful. It was so beautiful. You know, she wasn’t just putting the president down, she was trying to pick the country up. She was speaking like a lot of moms across this country. You know, the heartbreak was there, the hope was there. You know, when she talks about Joe knows the anguish of sitting at a table with an empty chair, I mean, that goes deep. She was bringing something forward in the country that just hasn’t been here for a long time."
Jones went on to commend the former First Lady for showing empathy with the American people and said he was "blown away" by her speech.
"She talks about what the young people are seeing on their phones, seeing all these shootings, seeing all this disrespect, and the young people are beginning to give up on the country," he said. "So you’re seeing one of the most effective communicators in American life putting it all on the table, and it wasn’t just putting the president down. And the other thing is she talked about empathy. She wasn’t just siding that to Biden. She says, we all have empathy. That’s a feature of this country. I was just blown away by what she did, and she was building on the incredible performance of a lot of other people, but that was an extraordinary moment, I think, in American life, what she just did for this country."
In a separate op-ed for CNN, Jones said Michelle's speech was a "remarkable master class" and that she had once again proved that her appeal "transcends" politics. "What she delivered was a master class," he said. "She was not just trying to put the President down -- she was trying to pick the country up."
While vouching for Biden, who had served as her husband's deputy at the White House between 2009 and 2017, Michelle also attacked current President Donald Trump, calling him the "wrong president for our country" and saying he's "clearly in over his head" during what was a critical moment for the nation.
Michelle, who was sporting a necklace with the word VOTE on it, said: "Let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is."
The "it is what it is" appeared to be a cheeky reference to Trump's heavily-criticized response during an interview with Axios on HBO where he brushed away concerns about his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 170,000 lives in the country.
She went on to praise Biden as a "profoundly decent man" who will "tell the truth and trust science". "He knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic and lead our country," she said. "He will make smart plans and manage a good team, and he will govern as someone who's lived a life that the rest of us can recognize."