‘Hope Is Making a Comeback’: The Biggest Moments From Michelle Obama’s 2024 DNC Speech

TIME

Former First Lady Michelle Obama stepped back into the political spotlight on Tuesday night, returning to her hometown of Chicago to rally support for Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention.

Transcript

00:00The last time I was here in my hometown was to memorialize my mother.

00:16The woman who showed me the meaning of hard work and humility and decency.

00:23The woman who set my moral compass high and showed me the power of my own voice.

00:29I still feel her loss so profoundly.

00:35I wasn't even sure if I'd be steady enough to stand before you tonight.

00:40But my heart compelled me to be here because of the sense of duty that I feel to honor

00:46her memory and to remind us all not to squander the sacrifices our elders made to give us

00:57a better future.

01:00Kamala worked her way up to become Vice President of the United States of America.

01:07My girl, Kamala Harris, is more than ready for this moment.

01:17She is one of the most qualified people ever to seek the office of the presidency.

01:23If things don't go our way, we don't have the luxury of whining or cheating others to

01:30get further ahead.

01:31No.

01:32We don't get to change the rules so we always win.

01:37If we see a mountain in front of us, we don't expect there to be an escalator waiting to

01:42take us to the top.

01:44No.

01:45We put our heads down.

01:52We get to work.

01:54In America, we do something.

01:57I want to know, who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just

02:04be one of those black jobs?

02:07His same old con, doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas

02:20and solutions that will actually make people's lives better.

02:24Look, because cutting our health care, taking away our freedom to control our bodies, the

02:32freedom to become a mother through IVF like I did, those things are not going to improve

02:40the health outcomes of our wives, mothers, and daughters.

02:44Shutting down the Department of Education, banning our books, none of that will prepare

02:50our kids for the future.

02:52Demonizing our children for being who they are and loving who they love, look, that doesn't

02:59make anybody's life better.

03:06Instead, it only makes us small.

03:13Let me tell you this, going small is never the answer.

03:18Going small is the opposite of what we teach our kids.

03:23Going small is petty, it's unhealthy, and quite frankly, it's un-presidential.

03:32Remember there are still so many people who are desperate for a different outcome, who

03:38are ready to question and criticize every move Kamala makes, who are eager to spread

03:44those lies, who don't want to vote for a woman, who will continue to prioritize building their

03:51wealth over ensuring that everyone has enough.

03:55So folks, we cannot be our own worst enemies.

04:01No.

04:03See, because the minute something goes wrong, the minute a lie takes hold, folks, we cannot

04:09start wringing our hands.

04:12We cannot get a Goldilocks complex about whether everything is just right, and we cannot indulge

04:26our anxieties about whether this country will elect someone like Kamala instead of doing

04:31everything we can to get someone like Kamala elected.

04:36It's up to us to remember what Kamala's mother told her.

04:40Don't just sit around and complain, do something.

04:44So if they lie about her, and they will, we've got to do something.

04:50If we see a bad poll, and we will, we've got to put down that phone and do something.

04:56If we start feeling tired, if we start feeling that dread creeping back in, we've got to

05:01pick ourselves up, throw water on our face, and what?

05:04Do something!

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