Michelle Obama earns thunderous applause with Hillary Clinton endorsement

First Lady Michelle Obama made it clear at the Democratic National Convention on Monday that fear mongering doesn't work on her, and it shouldn't work on anyone else.

"Don't let anyone ever tell you that this country isn't great, that somehow we need to make it great again, because this right now is the greatest country on Earth," she said to thunderous applause. "We cannot afford to be tired or frustrated or cynical. Hear me: Between now and November we need to do what we did eight years ago and four years ago. We need to knock on every door, we need to get out every vote, we need to pour every last ounce of our passion and our strength and our love for this country into electing Hillary Clinton as president of the United States. Let's get to work."

For Obama, the election is about securing a prosperous future for the nation's children. "Hillary understands it's about leaving something better for our kids, that's how we've always moved this country forward, by all of us coming forward on behalf of our children," Obama said. Clinton has a "lifelong devotion" to helping children who need champions, she continued, and has spent decades "doing the relentless work to actually make a difference in their lives." Clinton "never buckles under pressure, never takes the easy way out," and "is someone who understands the issues the president faces are not black and white and cannot be boiled down to 140 characters."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"When you have the nuclear codes at your fingerprints and the military in your command you can't make snap decisions, you can't have a thin skin or a tendency to lash out," Obama added. "You have to be steady and measured and well-informed."

The first lady also reflected on what life has been like in the White House for the Obama family, and how she and the president have urged their daughters to "ignore those who question their father's citizenship or faith" and "insist that the hateful language they hear from public figures on TV does not represent the true spirit of this country." Obama became emotional when discussing her children, and shared that "because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters and all our sons and daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States."