Michelle Obama Publicly Humiliates Trump at Barack’s A-List Party
The former first lady’s speech is sure to get under Trump’s skin.
Michelle Obama landed a subtle jab at Donald Trump over one of his biggest insecurities while speaking at the star-studded ceremony honoring former President Barack Obama.
The former first lady celebrated her husband’s “dazzling brilliance” in a speech at the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Thursday.
As she reflected on Barack’s legacy, the qualities and achievements she praised seemed to draw an implicit contrast with Trump’s presidency.
“You were unflappable at every turn. Always focused. Always calm. Always looking at the long view,” Michelle, 62, told Barack, 64. “How absurd it is to even imagine that you might have buckled under the pressure even once; lashed out in frustration; lost your temper.”
A CNN/SSRS survey of 2,480 U.S. adults conducted this month found that 57 percent hold a favorable view of Obama, compared to just 34 percent for Trump.
Brendan McDermid/REUTERS
She then ran through key high points of Barack’s presidency—lingering on one milestone that has eluded Trump, 80, much to his frustration.
“You were doing the people’s work,” Michelle said. “Rescuing our economy, expanding healthcare, ending a war, ordering the bin Laden raid, saving an auto industry, winning a peace prize.”
She paused and flashed a smile as the crowd roared at the mention of Barack’s Nobel Peace Prize, which the Norwegian Nobel Institute awarded the then-president in October 2009 for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” and his “vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.”
FIFA gifted Trump the phony FIFA Peace Prize last year, after he missed out on the Nobel Peace Prize.
Jonathan Ernst/REUTERS
Trump has long been jealous of Obama’s prize. “If I were named Obama, I would’ve had the Nobel Prize given to me in 10 seconds,” Trump complained at a rally in 2024. “He got the Nobel Prize for doing nothing. For getting elected. But I got elected too.”
Sign Up for The Swamp Newsletter
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
The president spent much of last year aggressively lobbying for the peace prize by repeatedly claiming he had “solved” eight wars.
But the Nobel committee snubbed him in favor of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, and he had to settle for a “FIFA Peace Prize” that had been made up by the soccer organization’s sycophantic president, Gianni Infantino.
Trump changed his approach with the new year, launching a deadly war on Iran before negotiating a peace agreement widely viewed as weaker than the 2015 nuclear deal brokered by Obama and later abandoned by Trump in 2018.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Michelle continued her speech by rounding off her list of Obama’s record: “Keeping us safe from Ebola, regulating the banks, standing up for marriage equality, listening to science, and comforting an entire nation in the face of unspeakable tragedies.”
She added, “And you did it all with such grace and class and cool that you made the hardest job in the world look like a walk in this beautiful park.”
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Sign in or create an account
Login dialog
Loading comments…