First lady Michelle Obama said Thursday that she and millions of other women have been upset by allegations that Donald Trump groped and sexually harassed women, and said the country needs to reject Trump.
“A candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women,” said Obama in Manchester, N.H. “And I have to tell you that I can’t stop thinking about this. It has shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn’t have predicted.”
“It’s not how decent human beings behave and this is certainly not how someone who wants to be president of the United States behaves,” she said. “Because let’s be very clear, strong men, strong men, men who are truly role models, don’t need to put down women to make themselves feel powerful.”
Obama was referring to the 2005 video of Trump making lewd comments abut women to then-“Access Hollywood” co-host Billy Bush and a recent New York Times report in which two women accused the Republican presidential nominee of sexual assault. Trump has denied he has ever sexually assaulted women and has issued a rare apology for his “locker room talk” in the 2005 video.
Obama continued that she would love to “pretend like this isn’t happening,” but said she is so outraged that Trump is “speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behavior” that it can’t be ignored.
“It would be dishonest and disingenuous for me to move on to the next thing like this was just a bad dream,” she said.
“This is not something we can ignore. It’s not something we can sweep under the rug as just another disturbing footnote in a sad election season,” said Obama. “Because this was not just a lewd conversation. This wasn’t locker room banter. This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behavior.”
“This is not normal. This is not politics as usual,” said Obama to applause. “This is disgraceful. It is intolerable. Doesn’t matter what party you belong to. No woman deserves to be treated this way. No one deserves this kind of abuse. I know it’s a campaign, but this isn’t about politics.”
Obama suggested women may fear speaking up “because we’ve seen that people often won’t take our word over his.”
“This has got to stop right now. Because conservatives, if all of this is painful to us as grown women, what do you think this is doing to our children?” she asked.
The first lady said a Trump presidency would set a “bad example” not just for American children, but for the entire world.
“For so long America has been a model for countries across the globe… But if we have a president who routinely degrades women who brags about sexually assaulting women, then how can we maintain our moral authority in the world? How can we continue to be a beacon of freedom and justice and human dignity?”
