Donald Trump’s tirade of personal insults and lack of ability to stay on message about political issues in his re-election campaign have come back to bite him, through recent comments from a former first lady.
Michelle Obama, who has remained incredibly popular among Democrats since her husband left office in 2017, gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) this week which tore into Trump’s controversial behavior on the campaign trail. On Tuesday August 20, she twisted one of his lines hinting at concern that illegal immigrants are stealing “black jobs” and suggested that the position he is seeking “might just be” one of those jobs.
Michelle spoke for almost 20 minutes, most of which was dedicated to blasting Trump and his words and actions. She managed to avoid calling him by name, though everyone knew to whom she was referring, and spent far less time praising his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris.
The former first lady did not shy away from bringing up personal connections to Trump, who she reminded spent several years launching an investigation into her husband Barack’s birthplace, questioning his legitimate candidacy for president. She said that he had done “everything” he could in an effort to “make people fear us.”
Michelle drew a stark contrast between Trump—described as someone who was “threatened” thanks to his so-called “limited” and “narrow” worldview—and the former first couple, who she said are “hardworking,” well-educated, and “successful” individuals that “happen to be black.”
She also stated that Harris is a candidate who knows “most” Americans are not going to have the opportunity of “failing forward,” citing the business catastrophes faced by Trump, and that many are not products of “affirmative action” and “generational wealth,” taking aim at Trump’s uncontrollable circumstances of being born into a rich family.
In response to the talk by both Michelle and her husband, who also spent notable time criticizing his political rival, the GOP nominee mocked them in return. During a rally held the next day, Trump asked the crowd if they had witnessed the Obamas “taking little shots” at “your president.”
He went on to tell attendees at the Asheboro, North Carolina event that the former president and his first lady “always say” that he should “stick to policy” and not “get personal.” Hypocritically, he pointed out, they are “getting personal all night.” Later, Trump couldn’t help but rile up the crowd a bit and asked if he should “get personal” or not, to which the crowd cheered far more for the first option.
But even if some voters are in favor of Trump launching personal attacks against his political opponents, Republican officials are continuously warning that this is a bad campaign move that may hinder his results on Election Day.
Earlier this week, former White House trade advisor for the Trump administration, Peter Navarro, said that the nominee’s current rally approach is “not sufficiently focused” on highlighting the “stark policy differences” between him and Harris. He noted that these differences are going to “swing voters” one way or the other in “key battleground states.”
Similarly, the former president’s 2016 campaign director Kellyanne Conway pointed out that, if Trump wants to win re-election, he needs to give out “fewer insults” and “more insights” on the same “policy contrast” to which Navarro referred.
