Written by Stephanie Kelly
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Michelle Obama took aim at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention, criticizing his character and the racist attacks she and her husband Barack have faced in the past.
“His narrow, limited view of the world made him feel threatened by the presence of two successful, highly educated people who were also black,” she said of Trump.
She also mocked Trump for his campaign reference to “black jobs,” which he claims are taken away from black Americans by immigrants crossing into the United States.
“Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s looking for right now might just be one of those jobs that’s for black people?” Obama asked, drawing an enthusiastic response from the audience.
The former first lady was speaking in support of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, who will formally accept the party’s presidential nomination at the convention and, if elected, would be the first Black and South Asian person to become president.
Michelle Obama also drew a parallel between Trump and most Americans who did not grow up in a wealthy environment like Trump, whose father was a real estate investor.
“We will never benefit from the positive discrimination of intergenerational wealth,” she said. “If we go bankrupt … or get into a crisis, we will never get a second, third or fourth chance,” she said. “And if things don’t go our way, we won’t have the luxury of complaining or cheating others in order to get further.”