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DNC 2020: Michelle Obama says Trump is 'wrong president for our country', bats for Biden who 'tells the truth'

The former first lady, who uttered the famous catchphrase 'When they go low, we go high' at the 2016 convention, said 'going high is the only thing that works' in this year's convention

Four years ago, Michelle Obama came up with a catchphrase at the Democratic National Convention which became legendary later even if it could not stop Donald Trump from becoming the president. "When they go low, we go high," she said while defending Hillary Clinton’s candidature and targeting her GOP opponent as the race for the White House got intense.

On Monday, August 18, the former first lady returned to the same occasion and this time vouched for Joe Biden, who had served as her husband Barack Obama’s deputy at the White House between 2009 and 2017. And while she backed the presumptive Democratic candidate, she shredded the same opponent she had targeted four years ago — Trump. 

The 56-year-old Michelle, one of the most revered women leaders in contemporary America, made her keynote speech at the opening night of the virtual convention and immediately attacked Trump, calling him the "wrong president for our country" and saying he is "clearly in over his head" at 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." It soon started heavily trending online.

"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," she said.

'Going high is the only thing that works'

She also made a reference to her famous words uttered at the 2016 convention and said: "Going high is the only thing that works." 

She also clarified that going high doesn’t mean "putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty." She said, "Going high means taking the harder path. It means scraping and clawing our way to that mountain top." She also praised Biden while comparing him with Trump, calling the former veep a "profoundly decent man" who will "tell the truth and trust science."

Michelle bats for Biden

"He knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic and lead our country. 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," Michelle said, clearly indicating Biden’s record as the vice president when the Obama administration faced the economic crisis after coming to office in 2009.

She also sympathized with Biden over his personal losses saying: "His life is a testament to getting back up, and he is going to channel that same grit and passion to pick us all up, to help us heal and guide us forward." Biden's first wife Neilia and one-year-old daughter Naomi died in a car accident in 1972, shortly after he was elected as a senator from Delaware. In 2015, his oldest son Beau died from brain cancer. 

Michelle contrasted Biden with Trump saying whenever one looks up to the current administration for "some leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness", one only finds "chaos, division, and a total and utter lack of sympathy". She was speaking in connection with the countrywide protests that broke out following the brutal death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. Michelle, who has seen the White House functioning from close quarters, also said: "You simply cannot fake your way through this job."

The former first lady, who is also an author and philanthropist, leads an effort to help register people to vote. She stressed on the importance of voting in this year’s election and her necklace was significant from that angle. Michelle’s remarks were recorded (Trump slammed her over that) before Biden came up with his announcement of picking Kamala Harris as his running mate. She, however, wrote on various social media platforms in favor of the California senator, also a woman of color. 

Monday’s speech marked the fourth time that Michelle addressed a Democratic convention. In the 2008 and 2012 elections, she spoke in favor of her husband. And then, the battle with Trump began.