This Content Is Only For Subscribers
Last month, as Joe Biden’s campaign appeared to be faltering and rumors circulated about whether he might step aside, a poll suggested that only one Democrat could decisively defeat Donald Trump. That candidate, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, was Michelle Obama.
The former first lady consistently ranks as the most popular Democrat in the country. Despite her repeated declarations that she has no political aspirations, there have been persistent reports from within Trump’s circle expressing concern that she might fulfill the hopes of many Democrats and choose to run for office. After her powerful performance in Chicago last night, it’s easy to see why such concerns may exist.
Mrs. Obama electrified the second night of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, delivering what some commentators hailed as one of the best political speeches they had ever witnessed. Eight years ago, at the same event, Mrs. Obama famously declared, “When they go low, we go high.” However, last night, both she and her husband adopted a different approach, portraying Trump as a leader consumed by grievances and whose rhetoric had grown tiresome.
There was no doubt whom Mrs. Obama was referencing when she remarked that for most Americans, “If things don’t go our way, we don’t have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get ahead… we don’t get to change the rules so we always win.”
Drawing on her own experiences, Mrs. Obama predicted that Trump would likely resort to “ugly, misogynistic, racist lies” about Kamala Harris. She also earned a big laugh when she referred to Trump’s June comment about illegal immigrants taking “black jobs,” quipping, “Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those black jobs?”
Laughing at the former president marks a fresh strategy for Democrats, and it might prove to be a highly effective one. This shift in tone is often attributed to Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’s vice-presidential pick, who has repeatedly called Trump “weird,” a label that other Democrats have started to use as well.
Joe Biden has frequently issued grave warnings, portraying Trump as a serious threat to democracy, a depiction that built him up as a dark and formidable figure. In contrast, both Michelle and Barack Obama have adopted this new approach, using humor to diminish Trump. Their jokes were carefully crafted to portray Trump as egotistical and petty, more of a self-centered nuisance than an evil menace. Barack Obama likened Trump to “the neighbor who keeps running his leaf blower outside your window every minute of every day.”
During his speech, Barack Obama poked fun at Trump’s obsession with crowd sizes, and his hand gestures hinted at another insinuation, which drew roaring laughter from the audience. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris was holding a campaign rally 80 miles away in Milwaukee, in the same arena where Trump had accepted his party’s presidential nomination just weeks earlier. The Harris campaign made sure to point out that the auditorium was packed, drawing a clear contrast to Trump’s earlier event.
On Monday night, Joe Biden framed the upcoming election as “a battle for the very soul of America.” However, the Obamas offered a less dire—and potentially less divisive—perspective. Barack Obama urged Democrats to consider the concerns of those who do not yet support Harris and cautioned against demonizing Trump’s supporters. He compared them to a family member who occasionally says something cringeworthy but isn’t automatically seen as a bad person. The key, he suggested, is to recognize that the world is changing rapidly and that these individuals might need time and encouragement to catch up.
By critiquing Trump without alienating his supporters, and by using humor instead of fear, the Obamas might have discovered a more effective way to campaign against a candidate who, just weeks ago at the Republican convention, seemed nearly invincible.