Michelle Obama scolds those who question 'whether my husband was even born in this country'

Michelle Obama on Friday implored a college audience to support Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump, saying that “being president isn't anything like reality TV.”

Listing off the accomplishments of her husband’s administration and the difficult decisions he has faced throughout it, Obama suggested that Trump was unprepared to handle any of it. In her first appearance on the campaign trail for the former secretary of state, she said Trump’s campaign has offered indisputable evidence of the type of commander in chief he would be.


“A candidate is not going to suddenly change once they get into office. Just the opposite, in fact,” she said. “Because the minute that individual takes that oath, they are under the hottest, harshest light there is. And there is no way to hide who they really are. And at that point it is too late.”

On the same day that Trump finally admitted that President Barack Obama was, in fact, born in the United States, the first lady recalled her husband’s election in 2008 when “people had all kinds of questions about what kind of president Barack would be.” She said the president had assuaged some of those concerns but added that “of course, there were those who questioned and continue to question for the past eight years up through this very day whether my husband was even born in this country.”

By comparison, Obama praised Clinton’s resilience after losing the 2008 Democratic primary and her long history of public service. She said she was “inspired by her persistence and her consistency, by her heart and her guts.”

“Hillary is one of the few people on this entire planet, and clearly the only person in this race that has any idea what this job entails,” Obama said. “Who has seen it from every angle, hear me, the staggering stakes, the brutal hours, the overwhelming stresses. And here’s the thing: She still wants to take it on.”

Speaking at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, the first lady also warned the crowd that “elections aren’t just about who votes but who doesn’t vote.” As a proof point, Obama told the audience that in 2012, voters under 30 accounted for the margins of victory for the president in four swing states: Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Obama also worked to fire up those in attendance about Clinton’s candidacy, addressing the relative lack of enthusiasm for the secretary of state, especially among young Democratic voters, relative to President Obama.

“I hear folks saying they don't feel inspired in this election. Well let me tell you, I disagree. I am inspired,” she said. “Because for eight years, I’ve had the privilege to see what it takes to actually do this job, and here is what I absolutely know for sure. Listen to this: Right now we have an opportunity to elect one of the most qualified people who has ever endeavored to become president.”

Ticking off Clinton’s career history, starting with lawyer and ending with secretary of state, the first lady punctuated the list by loudly asking the crowd, “do you hear me?” She repeated her earlier line, that Clinton is the most qualified candidate ever to run for the White House, adding her own applause line: “And yes, she happens to be a woman.”

“So we cannot afford squander this opportunity,” the first lady said. “Particularly given the alternative.”