Democratic National Convention: Donald Trump takes aim at Michelle Obama on Twitter

Donald Trump has taken aim at Michelle Obama in a new tweet, after she delivered a brutal slapdown of the current US president.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama delivered a harsh review of President Trump’s performance, saying he was not up to the job. Picture: Chris Delmas / AFP

Donald Trump has hit out at former First Lady Michelle Obama on Twitter, after she delivered harsh criticism of the US president.

Mr Trump took aim at Mrs Obama, blasting her endorsement of his opponent Joe Biden as “unenthusiastic” and claiming the reason he is currently sitting in the White House is because of her husband former President Barack Obama.

....My Administration and I built the greatest economy in history, of any country, turned it off, saved millions of lives, and now am building an even greater economy than it was before. Jobs are flowing, NASDAQ is already at a record high, the rest to follow. Sit back & watch!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 18, 2020

Mr Trump then went on to criticise the response by former President Obama and Mr Biden to the 2009 Swine Flu pandemic as “weak and pathetic”.

Looking back into history, the response by the ObamaBiden team to the H1N1 Swine Flu was considered a weak and pathetic one. Check out the polling, it’s really bad. The big difference is that they got a free pass from the Corrupt Fake News Media!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 18, 2020

The president’s Twitter posts come after Mrs Obama delivered a slapdown of Mr Trump, saying he is the “wrong President” for the United States, and is “clearly in over his head”.

In a clear reference to Mr Trump’s viral Axios interview at the start of this month, where he downplayed the US COVID-19 death toll, Mrs Obama appeared to use the President’s own words to say he is not up to governing: “It is what it is.”

Mrs Obama’s words were uncharacteristically pointed, and she referenced her own phrase from four years ago at the last Democratic convention: “When they go low, we go high.”

“Over the past four years, a lot of people have asked me, ‘When others are going so low, does going high still really work?’

“My answer: going high is the only thing that works, because when we go low, when we use those same tactics of degrading and dehumanising others, we just become part of the ugly noise that’s drowning out everything else. We degrade ourselves. We degrade the very causes for which we fight.

“But let’s be clear: going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty. Going high means taking the harder path. It means scraping and clawing our way to that mountain top.

“Going high means unlocking the shackles of lies and mistrust with the only thing that can truly set us free – the cold, hard truth. So let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can.

“Donald Trump is the wrong President for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head.

“He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is.”

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The Former First Lady Michelle Obama said Mr Trump was ‘clearly in over his head’. Picture: DNCC via Getty Images

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Mrs Obama’s comments were in reference to Mr Trump’s downplaying of the surging coronavirus death toll during an interview with Australian reporter Jonathan Swan earlier this month.

During the now infamous interview, Mr Swan asked the President about the government’s coronavirus response — and the President responded, “It is what it is”.

“I’ve gone to your rallies. I’ve talked to your people. They love you. They listen to you. They listen to every word you say. They hang on your every word,” Mr Swan said to the President.

“And so when they hear you say, ‘everything’s under control. Don’t worry about wearing masks,’ I mean, these are people — many of them are older people.”

Mr Trump responded: “Well what’s your definition of control? I think it’s under control.”

“How?” Mr Swan responded. “A thousand Americans are dying a day.”

“They are dying. That’s true. And you, it is what it is,” Mr Trump said. “But that doesn’t mean we aren’t doing everything we can. It’s under control as much as you can control it.”

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Jonathan Swan during his interview with President Trump.

The Former First Lady was speaking at the Democratic Party’s National Convention, a four-night event which will end with Joe Biden formally accepting the nomination as the party’s presidential candidate.
“Now I understand that my message won’t be heard by some people,” Mrs Obama said. “We live in a nation that is deeply divided and I am a black woman speaking at the Democratic Convention.

“But enough of you know by me now. You know that I tell you exactly what I’m feeling. You know that I hate politics. But you also know that I care about this nation.

“You know how much I care about all of our children. So if you take one thing from tonight let it be this — if you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can and they will, if we don’t make a change this election.”