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Michelle Obama makes emotional case for Hillary Clinton

 
Delegates at the Wells Fargo Center show their support of Michelle Obama during her speech.
Delegates at the Wells Fargo Center show their support of Michelle Obama during her speech.
Published July 26, 2016

PHILADELPHIA — First lady Michelle Obama delivered a powerful character witness on behalf of the Democratic Party's nominee, Hillary Clinton, and urged her party to not be complacent.

"I'm here because in this election, there is only one person who I trust with that responsibility and only one person who is truly qualified to be president of the United States, and that is our friend Hillary Clinton," Obama said. "I want someone who has the proven strength to persevere."

Obama warned that the party must work as hard as they did to elect her husband four and eight years ago to elect Clinton.

"In this election, we cannot sit back and hope that everything works out for the best," Obama said. "We cannot afford to be tired or frustrated or cynical."

The crowd rose to their feet, and delegates called out, "We love you Michelle!" after a speech that was the most well-received at that point in the night.

At another point, Obama grew emotional reflecting on Clinton's potential to be the first woman president in the country's history.

"Because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters can now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States," she said, her voice breaking with emotion.

The first lady also linked Clinton's quest to be the first woman elected president and Barack Obama's historic tenure in the White House as the first black president.

She recalled the history of black Americans who "felt the lash of bondage" and the "sting of segregation," and she said, "I wake up in a house built by slaves," and added that she now gets to "watch my daughters, two intelligent black young women, play with their dog on the White House lawn."

The first lady also pushed back on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's slogan to "make America great again."

She said, "Don't let anyone ever tell you that this country isn't great. That somehow we need to make it great again. Because this right now is the greatest country on earth."

She never mentioned Trump by name, but she decried what she called "hateful language." She said that goes against what she tries to teach her children.

Her message? She said, "When they go low, we go high."

Information from the Washington Post and Associated Press was used in this report.