Michelle Obama threw down the gauntlet to male voters in a speech on Saturday, leaving some people calling for the one-time First Lady to make her own presidential run.
Hitting the campaign trail on behalf of Kamala Harris, the wife of former President Barack Obama told a crowd in Kalamazoo, Michigan, that a second Donald Trump presidency would pose a real threat to women in the United States.
“We all know we have a lot more work to do in this country,” Obama said. “But to anyone out there thinking about sitting out this election, or voting for Donald Trump, or voting for a third-party candidate in protest, because you’re fed up. Let me warn you, your rage does not exist in a vacuum. If we don’t get this election right, your wife, your daughter, your mother, we as women will become collateral damage to your rage.”
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Obama pointed to Trump’s stances on abortion and access to reproductive health care as evidence that American women would be at risk if he wins the neck-and-neck race for the presidency on Nov. 5.
As for the women in the audience, she urged them to make their voices heard.
“Women standing up for what is best for us can make the difference in this election,” she said. “So let us use our voices in these final days to make it plain to the men in our lives that we need to stand not with Trump, but with us. We need them to vote for the only candidate in this race who will protect our lives. We need them to vote for Kamala Harris.”
The emphatic words made waves on social media, and some users were so inspired that they thought that Obama herself should be the one on the ballot.
“If Harris doesn’t win, Michelle Obama needs to run in 2028,” wrote X user @AlwaysTTNJ.
User @JoeFedorowicz agreed, and thought she would have an easy time of it, writing, “Michelle Obama would cruise if she ever decided to run.”
It isn’t the first time that Democrats have called for the former First Lady to take aim at the nation’s highest office. Before Kamala Harris emerged as the pick to replace President Joe Biden after his disastrous debate performance sank his re-election chances, the rumor mill churned around Obama.
Surely to the dismay of those yearning for her in the White House, though, Obama has been outspoken, for years, about never running for public office, especially the presidency.
Her past reluctance made fodder for social media jokes after her rousing speech, however.
“If Trump wins let’s all collectively blame Michelle Obama for putting her own lack of desire to run for POTUS over stopping fascism,” wrote X user @NateBlanchett, “because every time I hear her speak, I am reminded there is no way she wouldn’t have won both the nomination and the general election.”
