Michelle Obama never mentioned the name of Hillary Clinton's opponent
in this speech that she , herself, wrote. This is a speech for
history. I have already tweeted it and shared it on Facebook. I am
adding it here so that we can always find it easily when we need it.
The Republican nominee has bragged about behavior so atrocious that
FLOTUS simply cannot accept that he potentially could occupy the Oval
Office. In case somehow you made it through this day without seeing this
speech, here it is.
At
a rally in Manchester on Thursday, First Lady Michelle Obama laid out
the stakes in this election, contrasting Hillary Clinton’s lifetime of
service with Donald Trump’s disturbing behavior. The First Lady
highlighted Clinton’s work for children and families and said she has
“the strength and compassion to lead this country.” Her strength and
resilience, the First Lady said, will allow Clinton to not only govern
effectively but bring our country together. The First Lady added, “We
know that when things get tough, Hillary doesn’t complain. She doesn’t
blame others. She doesn’t abandon ship for something easier. No, Hillary
Clinton has never quit on anything in her life. So, in Hillary, we have
a candidate who has dedicated her life to public service, someone who
has waited her turn and helped out while waiting. […] And if any of us
had raised a daughter like Hillary Clinton, we would be so proud. We
would be proud. And regardless of who her opponent might be, no one
could be more qualified for this job than Hillary, no one.”
The
First Lady also called Donald Trump unfit for the job in many ways.
Trump’s disturbing remarks about women, the First Lady said, are “not
something we can just sweep under the rug as just another disturbing
footnote in a sad election season,” nor can they be ignored as “locker
room banter.” She added, “It now seems very clear that this isn’t an
isolated incident. It’s one of countless examples of how he has treated
women his whole life […] Strong men, strong men, men who are truly role
models don’t need to put down women to make themselves feel powerful.”
The
First Lady urged New Hampshire women, for this reason and others, to
get out the vote on November 8th. She also recalled the hotly contested
2012 election in which her husband won the state by an average of 66
votes a precinct as proof that their votes would be crucial. The First Lady’s remarks, as transcribed, are below:
“That’s
a little one there. My goodness! You guys are fired up! Wow! Let me
just say, hello everyone! I am so thrilled to be here with you all today
in New Hampshire. This is like home to me. Thank you for a beautiful
fall day. You just ordered this day up for me, didn’t you? It’s great to
be here. Let me start by thanking your fabulous governor, your next US
senator, Maggie Hassan. I want to thank her for that lovely
introduction. I also want to recognize your lovely Congresswoman Annie
McLane Kuster who is a dear, dear friend, your soon to be congresswoman
once again, Carol Shea Porter. All of whom who have just been terrific
friends to us, and your executive counsel and candidate for governor,
Colin Van Ostern.
And of course, thanks to all of you for taking
the time to be here today. Thanks so much. That’s very sweet of you, I
love you guys too. I can’t believe it’s just a few weeks before Election
Day as we come together to support the next president and vice
president of the United States, Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine!
And
New Hampshire is going to be important as always. So I’m going to get a
little serious here, because I think we can all agree that this has
been a rough week in an already rough election. This week has been
particularly interesting for me personally because it has been a week of
profound contrast. See, on Tuesday at the White House, we celebrated
International Day of the Girl and Let Girls Learn. And, it was a
wonderful celebration. It was the last event that I’m going to be doing
as First Lady for Let Girls Learn. And I have the pleasure of spending
hours talking to some of the most amazing young women you will ever meet
– young girls here in the US and all around the world. And we talked
about their hopes, and their dreams. We talked about their aspirations.
See,
because many of these girls have faced unthinkable obstacles just to
attend school – jeopardizing their personal safety, their freedom,
risking the rejection of their families, and communities. So I thought
it would be important to remind these young women how valuable and
precious they are. I wanted them to understand the measure of any
society is how it treats its women and girls.
And I told them – I
told them that they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. And I
told them that they should disregard anyone who demeans or devalues
them, and that they should make their voices heard in the world. And –
and I walked away feeling so inspired, just like I’m inspired by all the
young people here. And I was so uplifted by these girls. That was
Tuesday. And now here I am – out on the campaign trail in an election
where we have consistently been hearing hurtful, hateful language about
women. Language that has been painful for so many of us – not just as
women, but as parents trying to protect our children and raise them to
be caring, respectful adults.
And as citizens who think our
nation’s leaders should meet basic standards of human decency. But the
fact is that, in this election, we have a candidate for president of the
United States who – over the course of his lifetime, in the course of
this campaign – has said things about women that are so shocking, so
demeaning, I simply will not repeat anything here today. And last week,
we saw this candidate actually bragging about sexually assaulting women.
And I can’t believe I’m saying that – a candidate for President of the
United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women. And I have to
tell you that I can’t stop thinking about this. It has shaken me to my
core in a way that I couldn’t have predicted. So while I’d love nothing
more than to pretend like this isn’t happening and to come out here and
do my normal campaign speech, it would be dishonest and disingenuous to
me to just move on to the next thing like this was all just a bad dream.
This is not something that we can ignore.
It’s not something we
can just sweep under the rug as just another disturbing footnote in a
sad election season. Because this was not just a lewd conversation, this
was not just ‘locker room banter.’ This was a powerful individual
speaking openly and freely about sexually predatory behavior and
actually bragging about kissing and groping women, using language that
was so obscene, many of us were worried about our children hearing it
when we turned on the TV. And to make matters worse, it now seems very
clear that this isn’t an isolated incident. It’s one of countless
examples of how he has treated women his whole life, and I have to tell
you, I’ve listened to this, and I feel it so personally. And I’m sure
that many of you do, too – particularly the women. The shameful comments
about our bodies.
The disrespect of our ambitions and intellect.
The belief that you can do anything you want to a woman. That is cruel.
It’s frightening. And the truth is, it hurts. It hurts. It’s like that
sick, sinking feeling you get when you’re minding your own business and
some guy yells out vulgar words about your body. Or when you see that
guy at work who stands just a little too close, stares a little too
long. And makes you feel uncomfortable in your own skin. It’s that
feeling of terror and violation that too many women have felt when
someone has grabbed them or forced himself on them and they said no. But
he didn’t listen.
Something that we know happens on college
campuses and countless other places every single day. It reminds us of
stories we’ve heard from our grandmothers and mothers about how back in
their day, the boss could say and do whatever he pleased to the women in
the office. And even though they’ve worked so hard, jumped over every
hurdle to prove themselves, it was never enough. We thought all of that
was ancient history, didn’t we?
And so many have worked for so
many years to end this kind of violence and abuse and disrespect. But
here we are in 2016 and we’re hearing these exact same things on the
campaign trail. We are drowning in it. And all of us are doing what
women have always done. We’re trying to keep our heads above water –
just trying to get through it. Trying to pretend like this doesn’t
really bother us. Maybe because we think that admitting how much it
hurts makes us as women look weak. Maybe we’re afraid to be that
vulnerable. Maybe we’ve grown accustomed to swallowing these emotions
and staying quiet because we’ve seen that people often won’t take our
word over his. Or maybe, we don’t want to believe that there are still
people out there who think so little of us as women.
Too many are
treating this as just another day’s headline. As if our outrage is
overblown or unwarranted as if this is normal, just politics as usual.
But New Hampshire, be clear: this is not normal. This is not politics as
usual. This is disgraceful. It is intolerable, and it doesn’t matter
what Party you belong to: Democrat, Republican, Independent. No woman
deserves to be treated this way. None of us deserves this kind of abuse.
And
I know it’s a campaign but this isn’t about politics. It’s about basic
human decency. It’s about right and wrong and we simply cannot endure
this or expose our children to this any longer, not for another minute,
let alone for four years.
Now is the time for all of us to stand
up and say, ‘Enough is enough.’ This has got to stop right now. Because
consider this: if all of this is painful to us as grown women, what do
you think this is doing to our children? What messages are our little
girls hearing about who they should look like, how they should act? What
lessons are they learning about their value as professionals, as human
beings? About their dreams and aspirations? And how is this affecting
men and boys in this country? Because I can tell you that 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. The men that you and I know don’t treat
women this way. They are loving fathers who are sickened by the thought
of their daughters being exposed to this kind of vicious language about
women. They are husbands and brothers and sons who don’t tolerate women
being treated and demeaned and disrespected. And like us, these men are
worried about the impact this election is having on our boys who are
looking for role models of what it means to be a man.
In fact,
someone recently told me a story about their six-year-old son who one
day was watching the news. They were watching the news together and the
little boy, out of the blue said, ‘I think Hillary Clinton will be
president.’ And his mom said, ‘Well, why do you say that?’ And this
little six year old said, ‘Well because this other guy called someone,
‘A piggy,’ and he said, ‘You cannot be president if you call someone ‘a
piggy.’
So even a 6-year-old knows better. A 6-year-old knows that
this is not how adults behave, this is not how decent people behave,
and this is certainly not how someone who wants to be president behaves;
Because let’s be very clear. Strong men, strong men, men who are truly
role models don’t need to put down women to make themselves feel
powerful.
People who are truly strong lift others up. People who
are truly powerful bring others together and that is what we need in our
next president. We need someone who is a uniting force in this country.
We need someone who will heal the wounds that divide us. Someone who
truly cares about us and our children. Someone with strength and
compassion to lead this country
And let me tell you that I am here
today to tell you with all of my heart that Hillary Clinton will be
that president. We know that Hillary is the right person for the job
because we’ve seen her commitment and character – not just through this
campaign – but over the course of her entire life.
The fact is,
Hillary embodies so many of the values that we try so hard to teach our
young people. We tell our young people to work hard in school, get a
good education, use that education to help others which is exactly what
Hillary did with her college and law degrees. Advocating for kids with
disabilities, fighting for children’s health care as first lady,
affordable child care in the Senate. We teach our kids the value of
being a team player, which is what Hillary exemplified when she lost the
2008 election and actually agreed to work for her opponent as our
secretary of state, earning sky high approval ratings, serving her
country once again. We also teach our kids that you don’t take shortcuts
in life, and you strive for meaningful success in whatever job you do.
Well, Hillary has been a lawyer, a law professor, first lady of
Arkansas, first lady of the United States, a US senator, secretary of
state, and she has been successful in every role, gaining more
experience and exposure to the presidency than any candidate in our
lifetime – more than Barack, more than Bill. And yes, she happens to be a
woman.
And finally, we teach our kids that when you hit
challenges in life, you don’t give up. You stick with it. Well, during
her four years as secretary of state alone, Hillary’s faced her share of
challenges. She’s traveled to 112 countries, negotiated a ceasefire, a
peace agreement, a release of dissidents. She’s spent 11 hours
testifying before a congressional committee. We know that when things
get tough, Hillary doesn’t complain. She doesn’t blame others. She
doesn’t abandon ship for something easier. No, Hillary Clinton has never
quit on anything in her life. So, in Hillary, we have a candidate who
has dedicated her life to public service, someone who has waited her
turn and helped out while waiting. She is an outstanding mother. She has
raised a phenomenal young woman. She is a loving, loyal wife. She’s a
devoted daughter who cared for her mother until her final days.
And
if any of us had raised a daughter like Hillary Clinton, we would be so
proud. We would be proud. And regardless of who her opponent might be,
no one could be more qualified for this job than Hillary, no one. And in
this election, if we turn away from her, if we just stand by and allow
her opponent to be elected, then what are teaching our children about
the values they should hold, about the kind of life they should lead?
What are we saying? In our hearts, in our hearts, we all know that if we
let Hillary’s opponent win this election, that we are sending a clear
message to our kids that everything they’re seeing and hearing is
perfectly okay. We are validating it. We are endorsing it. We are
telling our sons that it’s okay to humiliate women. We are telling our
daughters that this is how they deserve to be treated. We’re telling all
of our kids that bigotry and bullying is perfectly acceptable in the
leader of their country. Is that what we want for our children?
And
remember, we won’t just be setting a bad example for our kids but our
entire world because for so long, America has been a model for countries
around the global, pushing them to educate their girls, insisting that
they give more rights to their women.
But 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? Well,
fortunately, New Hampshire, here’s the beauty. We have everything we
need to stop this madness. You see, while our mothers and grandmothers
were often powerless to change their circumstances, today we as women
have all the power we need to determine the outcome of this election.
We
have knowledge, we have a voice, we have a vote, and on November the
8th, we as women, we as Americans, we as decent human beings can come
together and declare that enough is enough, and we do not tolerate this
kind of behavior in our country.
Remember this: in 2012, women’s
votes were the difference between Barack winning and losing in key swing
states, including right here in New Hampshire. So for anyone who might
be thinking that your one vote doesn’t really matter or that one person
can’t really make a difference, consider this: back in 2012 Barack won
New Hampshire by about 40,000 votes, which sounds like a lot. But when
you break that number down, the difference between winning and losing
this state was only 66 votes per precinct. Just take that in.
If
66 people in each precinct had gone the other way, Barack would have
lost. So each of you right here today could help swing an entire
precinct and win this election for Hillary just by getting yourselves,
your families and your friends and neighbors out to vote. You can do it,
right here!
But you could also help swing an entire precinct for
Hillary’s opponent with a protest vote or by staying home out of
frustration. Because here is the truth: either Hillary Clinton or her
opponent will be elected president this year, and if you vote for
someone other than Hillary or if you don’t vote at all, then you are
helping to elect her opponent. And just think about how you will feel if
that happens.
Imagine waking up on November the 9th and looking
into the eyes of your daughter or son, or looking into your own eyes as
you stare into the mirror. Imagine how you’ll feel if you stayed home or
if you didn’t do everything possible to elect Hillary. We simply cannot
let that happen. We cannot allow ourselves to be so disgusted that we
just shut off the TV and walk away. And we can’t just sit around
wringing our hands. Now we need to recover from our shock and depression
and do what women have always done in this country: we need to roll up
our sleeves, we need to get to work. Because remember this, when they go
low, we go—“ AUDIENCE: “High!” MICHELLE OBAMA: “Yes
we do. And voting ourselves is a great start because we also have to
step up and start organizing, so we need you to make calls and knock on
doors and get people to the polls on Election Day and sign up to
volunteer with one of the Hillary campaign folks who are here today just
waiting for you to step up. And young people and not so young people,
get on social media. Share your own story about why this election
matters, why it should matter for all people of conscience in this
country.
There is so much at stake in this election, because the
choice you make November 8th could determine whether we have a president
who treats people with respect or not, a president who will fight for
our kids, for good schools, for good jobs for our families or not, a
president who thinks women have the right to make our own choices about
our bodies and our health or not. That’s just a little bit of what’s at
stake, so we cannot be afford to be tired or turned off, and we cannot
afford to stay home on Election Day because on November the 8th, we have
the power to show our children that America’s greatness comes from
recognizing the innate dignity and worth of all of our people. On
November the 8th, we can show our children that this country is big
enough to have a place for us all. Men and women, folks of every
background and walk of life, and that each of us is a precious part of
this great American story, and we are always stronger together.
On
November 8th, 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, we rise up to perfect our union, we
rise up to defend our blessings of liberty, we rise up to embody the
values of equality and opportunity and sacrifice that have always made
this country the greatest nation on earth.
That is who we are. And
don’t let anybody ever tell you differently. Hope is important, hope is
important for our young people, and we deserve a president who can see
those truths in us, a president who can bring us together and bring out
the very best in us. Hillary Clinton will be that president. So for the
next 26 days, we need to do everything we can to help her and Tim Kaine
win this election. I know I’m going to be doing it. Are you with me? Are
you all with me? You ready to roll up your sleeves? Get to work
knocking on doors? Alright, let’s get to work. Thank you all, God
bless!”
