Michelle Obama hammers Trump over taxes, Twitter, PTSD

Michelle Obama didn’t mention Donald Trump by name during her speech in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday, but the first lady warned voters that not supporting Hillary Clinton would aid the election of a temperamentally unfit bully who puts himself first and lashes out at others.

Obama made reference to a barrage of negative headlines that have blunted Trump’s momentum in national and battleground state polls since last Monday’s presidential debate, including the Hofstra University debate itself.


Highlighting the importance of the presidency, Obama said the 45th commander in chief should, first and foremost, “take the job seriously.” “And that means we need someone who will actually study and prepare so that they understand the issues better than anyone else on their team,” she said, taking a clear swipe at Trump, an outsider candidate known for his bombastic rhetoric and controversial off-the-cuff remarks much more so than his grasp of policies and who was panned for his lack of debate preparation heading into Round One.

The next president should also be someone who is “steady and measured” in decisions of life and death and war and peace, Obama said.

“A president can’t just pop off or lash out irrationally. And I think we can all agree that someone who’s roaming around at 3 a.m. tweeting should not have their fingers on the nuclear codes,” Obama said, taking a shot at Trump’s infamous wee-hour Twitter rant last Friday against former Miss Universe Alicia Machado.

“We need someone who’s honest and plays by the rules, because not paying taxes for years and years while the rest of us pay our fair share doesn’t make you smarter than the rest of us,” she said, hitting back at the real estate mogul, who may have avoided paying personal income taxes for nearly two decades after losing $916 million, according to portions of his 1995 tax returns obtained anonymously by The New York Times (Trump suggested during the debate that he was smart for avoiding paying federal taxes). “No, we need a president who will choose to do what’s best for the country even when it doesn’t personally benefit them.”

“And finally, we need a president who’s compassionate and who truly cares about all our families, someone who will help us take on the hard issues our communities face, not just with slogans about law and order, but with real solutions to heal our divisions here in Charlotte and all across this country,” Obama said, again knocking the Republican presidential nominee, the self-proclaimed law-and-order candidate.

Obama maintained that the presidency won’t evolve a candidate, as she made the case that what voters have seen over this campaign cycle from both nominees should be enough to determine how they will vote in November.

“So if a candidate traffics in prejudice, fear and lies on the campaign trail, if a candidate mocks people with disabilities or folks who are sick, if a candidate implies that veterans who serve our countries so bravely are somehow weak because they’re dealing with the wounds of war, if a candidate regularly demeans and humiliates women, making cruel and insulting comments about our bodies, criticizing how we look, how we act, well, sadly, that’s who that candidate really is,” she said. “That’s the kind of candidate they will be. And trust me, a candidate is not going to suddenly change once they are in office. Just the opposite, in fact.”

Her speech, however, was more than just an attack on Trump. Her remarks included light moments about the Obamas finding jobs — “I’m gonna need a job, but it’ll be a job out of politics,” she noted — post-presidency and getting their security deposit back from their stay in the White House, in addition to the successes of the Obama administration.

She also spoke glowingly of Clinton, ticking off the positions Clinton has held that should excite voters when it’s time to go to the polls.

“Right now, we have an opportunity to elect one of the most qualified people who has ever endeavored to become president. Hillary — I remind people: Hillary has been a lawyer, a law professor, first lady of Arkansas, first lady of the United States, a U.S. senator, secretary of state,” she said. “See, Charlotte, that is why I’m inspired by Hillary. That’s why I’m here. I’m inspired by her persistence and consistency. I’m inspired by her heart and her guts. I’m inspired by her lifelong record of service. No one in our lifetime has ever had as much experience and exposure to the presidency. Not Barack, not Bill. Nobody. And yes, she just happens to be a woman.”