Michael Avenatti, the lawyer to porn star Stormy Daniels, rejected first lady Michelle Obama's message of positivity when he spoke at the Democratic Wing Ding event in Iowa on Friday and he has no regrets.

In a tweet Sunday, Avenatti, a vocal critic of the president, said his call for Democrats to fight "fire with fire" in the Trump era is a necessary one.

"I deeply respect our former FLOTUS - an incredible woman. Her message was the right one at that time and in the context she delivered it. But these are now critical times. And for our future and our children’s, we must have a fighter to end this dumpster fire of a presidency," Avenatti said.

[More: Michael Avenatti heading to New Hampshire as he weighs presidential run]



I deeply respect our former FLOTUS - an incredible woman. Her message was the right one at that time and in the context she delivered it. But these are now critical times. And for our future and our children’s, we must have a fighter to end this dumpster fire of a presidency. https://t.co/wUEBVLM16o — Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) August 12, 2018



At the event, a fundraiser favored by past presidential candidates in the state that holds its primaries first, Avenatti chided Democrats for tending to bring "nail clippers to gunfights." Suggesting a less civil approach, he said, “When they go low, I say we hit harder.”

That was a distorted version of Obama's rallying call at the 2016 Democratic Convention: “When they go low, we go high.” That phrase was echoed by Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 contest to then-candidate Donald Trump.

The push to get "low" against President Trump hints at what could be the tenor of the 2020 presidential campaign, and Avenatti himself may be at the forefront. "I’m exploring a run for the presidency of the United States, and I wanted to come to Iowa and listen to people and learn about some issues that are facing the citizens of Iowa and do my homework," he told the Des Moines Register on Thursday.

Obama, who has so far resisted calls for her to run for office, is diving back into politics for the 2018 midterm elections. Last week Obama, who is co-chairwoman of the When We All Vote nonprofit group, announced a national voter registration drive in September to mark the 53rd anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act.