Donald Trump, traditionally, has said a lot of mean things about Barack Obama, including a multiyear campaign to argue, falsely, that the 44th president wasn’t really born in the United States. During his presidency, much of Trump’s legislative agenda was focused on trying to repeal most of Obama’s legislative accomplishments, including the Affordable Care Act.
Throughout most of that time, Trump has been much less quick to directly attack the former First Lady, Michelle Obama, even as Michelle has appeared on the campaign trail as a popular surrogate of Kamala Harris. In a recent Pennsylvania speech, the former First Lady declared that “there is no way that we can tell our kids that anything is possible, that we should be open and accepting of every voice and perspective, and then give them a leader who contradicts all of those lessons.”
Last week, Trump said on social media that Michelle was “angry and totally out of control.” As pointed out by journalist Yashar Ali, Trump has been reluctant to direct such language at Michelle Obama in the past:
It is extremely rare for Trump to attack Michelle Obama by name.
Extremely.
So rare, in fact, that I had to go search to check the last time he did it.
And I believe this is the harshest language he’s used towards her directly. pic.twitter.com/Dz6bLJTrH1
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) October 28, 2024
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A few days later, Trump took it further, insulting Michelle Obama at a rally in North Carolina.
“I was so nice to her out of respect,” Trump said of Michele at the rally. “She hit me the other day. I was going to say, am I allowed to hit her now?” He then noted that his advisers urged him to not publicly attack the former First Lady, before asking “the ladies in North Carolina” whether he should “hit back or just relax.”
Trump: Michelle.. I was so nice to her out of respect. She hit me the other day. I was going to say, am I allowed to hit her now? pic.twitter.com/u0E8oXnOpD
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 4, 2024
First of all, it’s notable how mumbly, tired and unenergetic Trump sounds in the video clips. And it’s also clear that his advisers have a point, in that verbally attacking one of the most popular figures in American public life — a woman who has long been more popular, according to public surveys, than her husband — would help Trump in the closing days of the campaign.
Photo courtesy of Political Tribune photo library.
