/ 14 October 2016

Michelle Obama destroys Trump: The measure of any society is how it treats its women

Michelle Obama - known as 'The Closer' - once more captured her audience in a powerful
Michelle Obama - known as 'The Closer' - once more captured her audience in a powerful

They don’t call her “The Closer” for nothing. In 2008 and 2012, President Barack Obama’s campaign aides dubbed the First Lady “The Closer.” And with good reason. Michelle Obama delivered two of the best speeches supporting Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign and inadvertently coined its unofficial slogan.

“When they go low,” Clinton says on the campaign trail, “we go high,” her supporters shout back.

On Thursday, Michelle Obama hit the campaign trail for Hillary Clinton and delivered a robust speech calling out Donald Trump’s treatment of women and his cavalier attitude towards criticisms of his behaviour. 

“I can’t believe I’m saying a candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women,” Obama said.

She asked women everywhere to stand up against everything the Republican nominee represents.

Read some of her most memorable quotes from the speech:

“The shameful comments about our bodies, the disrespect of our ambitions and intellect. The belief you can do anything to a woman? It is cruel. It’s frightening. And the truth is, it hurts. It hurts.”

This wasn’t just locker room banter.”

“This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behavior and actually bragging about kissing and groping women, using language so obscene that many of us worry about our children hearing it when we turn on the TV.”

“I can’t stop thinking about this,” she said. “It has shaken me to my core in a way I could not have predicted.”

“The men in my life do not talk about women like this, and I know that my family is not unusual. And to dismiss this as everyday locker-room talk is an insult to decent men everywhere.”

“Strong men don’t need to put women down to make themselves feel powerful.”

“If we have a president who routinely degrades women, who brags about sexually assaulting women, then how can we maintain our moral authority in the world? How can we continue to be a beacon of freedom and justice and human dignity?”

“Enough is enough. This has got to stop right now.”

“On November 8, we can show our children that here in America, we reject hatred and fear. And in difficult times, we don’t discard our highest ideals. No, we rise up to meet them.”

Watch her full speech below: