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Watch: Michelle Obama’s full speech at 2024 DNC
Former first lady Michelle Obama delivered a roughly 20-minute speech Tuesday night at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, telling Americans that “hope is making a comeback” with Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on the Democratic ticket. In the speech, Obama honored her late mother, Marian Robinson, saying she believes Harris holds similar values.
Obama also drew a stark contrast between Harris and former President Donald Trump, saying the Republican candidate “did everything in his power to try to make people fear us.” She also took a dig at Trump’s “Black jobs” comment made in his June debate with President Biden.
“Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘Black jobs’?” Obama asked.
The electric speech drew applause from the crowd and prompted her husband, former President Barack Obama to joke in his speech afterward that he’s “the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama.”
Read a full transcript of Obama’s prepared 2024 DNC remarks below.
Hello Chicago!
Something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn’t it?
Not just here in this arena… but spreading all across this country we love… a familiar feeling that’s been buried too deep for too long.
You know what I’m talking about?
It’s the contagious power of hope!
The anticipation… the energy… the exhilaration of once again being on the cusp of a brighter day.
The chance to vanquish the demons of fear, division, and hate that have consumed us… and continue pursuing the unfinished promise of this great nation—the dream that our parents and grandparents fought and died and sacrificed for.
America, hope is making a comeback!
To be honest, I’m realizing that until recently, I have mourned the dimming of that hope.
Maybe you’ve experienced the same feelings… a deep pit in my stomach… a palpable sense of dread about the future.
And for me, that mourning has been mixed with my own personal grief.
The last time I was in Chicago was to memorialize my mother—the woman who showed me the meaning of hard work, humility, and decency… who set my moral compass high and showed me the power of my voice.
I still feel her loss so profoundly… I wasn’t even sure I’d be steady enough to stand before you tonight.
But my heart compelled me to be here because of the sense of duty I feel to honor her memory… and to remind us all not to squander the sacrifices our elders made to give us a better future.
You see, my mom, in her steady, quiet way, lived out that striving sense of hope every day of her life.
She believed that all children — all people — have value… that anyone can succeed if given the opportunity.
She and my father didn’t aspire to be wealthy… in fact, they were suspicious of those who took more than they needed.
They understood that it wasn’t enough for their kids to thrive if everyone else around us was drowning.
So my mother volunteered at the local school… she always looked out for the other kids on our block.
She was glad to do the thankless, unglamorous work that for generations, has strengthened the fabric of this nation.
The belief that if you do unto others… if you love thy neighbor… if you work and scrape and sacrifice, it will pay off—if not for you, then maybe for your children or your grandchildren… those values have been passed on through family farms and factory towns… through tree-lined suburbs and crowded tenements… through prayer groups and National Guard units and social studies classrooms.
Those were the values my mother poured into me until her very last breath.
Kamala Harris and I built our lives on those same foundational values.
Even though our mothers grew up an ocean apart, they shared the same belief in the promise of this country.
That’s why her mother moved here from India at 19.
It’s why she taught Kamala about justice… about our obligation to lift others up… about our responsibility to give more than we take.
She’d often tell her daughter, “Don’t sit around and complain about things—do something!”
So with that voice in her head, Kamala went out and worked hard in school, graduating from an HBCU… earning her law degree at a state school… and then she went on to work for the people.
Fighting to hold lawbreakers accountable and strengthen the rule of law… fighting to get folks better wages… cheaper prescription drugs… a good education… decent health care, childcare, and elder care.
From a middle-class household, she worked her way up to become Vice President of the United States of America.
Kamala Harris is more than ready for this moment.
She is one of the most qualified people ever to seek the office of the presidency… and she is one of the most dignified—a tribute to her mother, to my mother, and probably to your mother too… the embodiment of the stories we tell ourselves about this country.
Her story is your story… it’s my story… it’s the story of the vast majority of Americans trying to build a better life.
Kamala knows, like we do, that regardless of where you come from, what you look like, who you love, how you worship, or what’s in your bank account… we all deserve the opportunity to build a decent life… all of our contributions deserve to be accepted and valued.
Because no one has a monopoly on what it means to be an American… no one!
Kamala has shown her allegiance to this nation, not by spewing anger and bitterness, but by living a life of service and always pushing the doors of opportunity open for others.
She understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward… we will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth.
If we bankrupt a business… or choke in a crisis, we don’t get a second, third, or fourth chance.
If things don’t go our way, we don’t have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead… we don’t get to change the rules so we always win.
If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top.
No, we put our heads down. We get to work. In America, we do something.
And throughout her entire life, that’s exactly what we’ve seen from Kamala Harris: the steel of her spine… the steadiness of her upbringing… the honesty of her example… and yes, the joy of her laughter and her light.
It couldn’t be more obvious… of the two major candidates in this race, only Kamala Harris truly understands the unseen labor and unwavering commitment that has always made America great.
Unfortunately, we know what comes next… we know folks are going to do everything they can to distort her truth.
My husband and I, sadly, know a little something about this.
For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us.
His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be Black.
Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those “Black jobs”?
It’s his same old con: doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people’s lives better.
You see, gutting our health care… taking away our freedom to control our bodies… the freedom to become a mother through IVF, like I did—those things are not going to improve the health outcomes of our wives, mothers, and daughters.
Shutting down the Department of Education… banning our books—none of that will prepare our kids for the future.
Demonizing our children for being who they are and loving who they love—that doesn’t make anybody’s life better.
Instead, it only makes us small.
And let me tell you… going small is never the answer.
Going small is the opposite of what we teach our children.
Going small is petty… it’s unhealthy… and quite frankly, it’s unpresidential.
Why would we accept this from anyone seeking our highest office?
Why would we normalize this type of backward leadership?
Doing so only demeans and cheapens our politics… it only serves to further discourage good, big-hearted people from wanting to get involved at all.
America, our parents taught us better than that… and we deserve so much better than that.
That’s why we must do everything in our power to elect two of those good, big-hearted people… there is no other choice than Kamala Harris and Tim Walz!
But as we embrace this renewed sense of hope, let us not forget the despair we have felt… let us not forget what we are up against.
Yes, Kamala and Tim are doing great right now… they’re packing arenas across the country… folks are energized… we’re feeling good.
But there are still so many people who are desperate for a different outcome… who are ready to question and criticize every move Kamala makes… who are eager to spread those lies… who don’t want to vote for a woman… who will continue to prioritize building their wealth over ensuring everyone has enough.
No matter how good we feel tonight or tomorrow or the next day, this is still going to be an uphill battle… so we cannot be our own worst enemies.
No, the minute something goes wrong… the minute a lie takes hold, we cannot start wringing our hands.
We cannot get a Goldilocks complex about whether everything is just right.
We cannot indulge our anxieties about whether this country will elect someone like Kamala instead of doing everything we can to get someone like Kamala elected.
Kamala and Tim have lived amazing lives… I am confident they will lead with compassion, inclusion, and grace.
But they are still only human. They are not perfect. And like all of us, they will make mistakes.
But luckily, this is not just on them.
No, this is up to us—all of us—to be the solution we seek… it is up to all of us to be the antidote to all the darkness and division.
I don’t care how you identify politically… whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, independent, or none of the above… this is our time to stand up for what we know in our hearts is right.
To stand up not just for our basic freedoms but for decency and humanity… for basic respect, dignity, and empathy… for the values at the very foundation of this democracy.
It’s up to us to remember what Kamala’s mother told her: Don’t just sit around and complain — do something!
So if they lie about her, and they will, we’ve got to do something!
If we see a bad poll, and we will, we’ve got to put down that phone and do something!
If we start feeling tired… if we start feeling that dread creeping back in… we’ve got to pick ourselves up, throw water on our faces, and do something!
We have only two and a half months to get this done… only 11 weeks to make sure every single person we know is registered and has a voting plan.
So we cannot afford for anyone to sit on their hands and wait to be called upon… don’t complain if no one from the campaign has specifically reached out to ask for your support… there is simply no time for that kind of foolishness.
You know what we need to do.
So consider this to be your official ask: Michelle Obama is asking you to do something!
Because this is going to be close.
In some states, just a handful of votes in every precinct could decide the winner.
So we need to vote in numbers that erase any doubt… we need to overwhelm any effort to suppress us.
Our fate is in our hands.
In 77 days, we have the power to turn our country away from the fear, division, and smallness of the past.
We have the power to marry our hope with our action.
We have the power to pay forward the love, sweat, and sacrifice of our mothers and fathers and all those who came before us.
We did it before and we sure can do it again.
Let us work like our lives depend on it…
Let us keep moving our country forward and go higher — yes, higher — than we’ve ever gone before…
As we elect the next President and Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz!
And now it is my honor to introduce somebody who knows a whole lot about hope… someone who has spent his life strengthening our democracy… please welcome America’s 44th president and the love of my life… Barack Obama!
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Oklahoma attorney general says state schools superintendent cannot mandate students watch prayer video
The Oklahoma attorney general’s office responded after the state’s education superintendent sent an email this week to public school administrators requiring them to show students his video announcement of a new Department of Religious Freedom and Patriotism. In the video, he prays for President-elect Trump.
Ryan Walters, a Republican, announced the new office on Wednesday and on Thursday sent the email to school superintendents statewide. The new department will be within the state’s Department of Education. Walters said it would “oversee the investigation of abuses to individual religious freedom or displays of patriotism.”
“In one of the first steps of the newly created department, we are requiring all of Oklahoma schools to play the attached video to all kids that are enrolled,” according to the email. Districts were also told to send the video to all parents of students.
In the video, Walters says religious liberty has been attacked and patriotism mocked “by woke teachers unions,” then prays for the leaders of the United States after saying students do not have to join in the prayer.
Sue Ogrocki / AP
“In particular, I pray for President Donald Trump and his team as they continue to bring about change to the country,” Walters said.
The office of state Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued a statement Friday saying Walters has no authority under state law to issue such a mandate.
“Not only is this edict unenforceable, it is contrary to parents’ rights, local control and individual free-exercise rights,” said the attorney general’s office spokesperson Phil Bacharach.
Multiple school districts have also said they had no plans to show students the video.
Walters, a former public school teacher elected in 2022, ran on a platform of fighting “woke ideology,” banning books from school libraries and getting rid of “radical leftists” who he claims are indoctrinating children in classrooms. He already faces two lawsuits over his June mandate that schools incorporate the Bible into lesson plans for students in grades 5 through 12. Several school districts have previously stated that they will disregard the mandate.
One of the lawsuits also notes that the initial request for proposal released by the State Department of Education to purchase the Bibles appears to have been tailored to match Bibles endorsed by now President-elect Donald Trump that sell for $59.99 each.
Earlier this week, Walters announced he had purchased more than 500 Bibles to be used in Advanced Placement government classes. The education department that the 500 Bibles are “God Bless the USA Bibles” and were ordered Thursday for about $25,000. They will arrive “in the coming weeks,” the department said.
CBS News
Kamala Harris raised more than $1 billion for her campaign. She’s still sending persistent appeals to donors after defeat.
Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party’s prodigious fundraising operation raised more than $1 billion in her loss to Donald Trump, but the vice president is still pushing donors for more money after the election.
Democrats are sending persistent appeals to Harris supporters without expressly asking them to cover any potential debts, enticing would-be donors instead with other matters: the Republican president-elect’s picks for his upcoming administration and a handful of pending congressional contests where ballots are still being tallied.
“The Harris campaign certainly spent more than they raised and is now busy trying to fundraise,” said Adrian Hemond, a Democratic strategist from Michigan. He said he had been asked by the campaign after its loss to Trump to help with fundraising.
The party is flooding Harris’ lucrative email donor list with near-daily appeals aimed at small-dollar donors — those whose contributions are measured in the hundreds of dollars or less. But Hemond said the postelection effort also includes individual calls to larger donors.
One person familiar with the effort and the Democratic National Committee’s finances said the Harris campaign’s expected shortfall is a relatively small sum compared to the breadth of the campaign, which reported having $119 million cash on hand in mid-October before the Nov. 5 election. That person was not authorized to publicly discuss the campaign’s finances and spoke on condition of anonymity.
But the scramble now underscores the expense involved in a losing effort and the immediate challenges facing Democrats as they try to maintain a baseline political operation to counter the Trump administration and prepare for the 2026 midterm elections. It also calls into question how Democrats used their resources, including hosting events with musicians and other celebrities as well as running ads in a variety of nontraditional spaces such as Las Vegas’ domed Sphere.
Patrick Stauffer, chief financial officer for the Harris campaign, said in a statement that “there were no outstanding debts or bills overdue” on Election Day and there “will be no debt” listed for either the campaign or the DNC on their next financial disclosures, which are due to the Federal Election Commission in December.
The person familiar with the campaign and DNC’s finances said it was impossible to know just where Harris’ balance sheet stands currently. The campaign still is getting invoices from vendors for events and other services from near the end of the race. The campaign also has outstanding receipts; for example, from media organizations that must pay for their employees’ spots on Air Force Two as it traveled for the vice president’s campaign activities.
Within hours of Trump picking Florida Republican Matt Gaetz for attorney general on Wednesday, Harris’ supporters got an appeal for more money for “the Harris Fight Fund,” citing the emerging Trump team and its agenda.
Gaetz, who resigned his House seat after the announcement, “will weaponize the Justice Department to protect themselves,” the email said. It said Democrats “must stop them from executing Trump’s plans for revenge and retribution” and noted that “even his Republican allies are shocked by this” Cabinet choice.
Another appeal followed Friday in Harris’ name.
“The light of America’s promise will burn bright as long as we keep fighting,” the email said, adding that “there are still a number of critical races across the country that are either too close to call or with the margin of recounts or certain legal challenges.”
The emails do not mention Harris’ campaign or its finances.
The “Harris Fight Fund” is a postelection label for the “Harris Victory Fund,” which is the joint fundraising operation of Harris’ campaign, the DNC and state Democratic parties. Despite the language in the recent appeals, most rank-and-file donors’ contributions would be routed to the national party, unless a donor took the time to contact DNC directly and have the money go directly to Harris or a state party.
The fine print at the bottom of the solicitation explains that the first $41,300 from a person and first $15,000 from a political action committee would be allocated to the DNC. The next $3,300 from a person or $5,000 from a PAC would go to the Harris for President “Recount Account.” Anything beyond that threshold, up to maximum contribution limits that can reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, would be spread across state parties.
Officials at the DNC, which is set to undergo a leadership change early next year, indicated the party has no plans to cover any shortfall for Harris but could not explicitly rule out the party shifting any money to the campaign.
