Jimmy Kimmel zeroed in on an especially biting line Michelle Obama delivered against President Trump.
Michelle spoke at the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Thursday, praising her husband for being “unflappable,” “focused,” and “always calm.”
The former first lady did not mention the current president by name, but she did indirectly insult him when listing one of her husband’s early accomplishments.
“You were doing the people’s work,” Michelle said to Barack. “Rescuing our economy, expanding healthcare, ending a war, ordering the bin Laden raid, saving an auto industry, winning a peace prize.”
She paused and smiled at the last line; it reminded the crowd not only of Obama’s 2009 Nobel Peace Prize but of Trump’s years of complaining that he himself has been unfairly denied the award.
Weeks after the Nobel Committee once again awarded someone else in December, Trump wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of Norway—who is not part of the Nobel Committee—complaining about the supposed snub.
“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace,” Trump wrote.
In his monologue Thursday, Kimmel called attention to Michelle’s “subtle little jab” against Trump, praising the Obamas for insulting him without ever actually mentioning “the orange one” by name.
Kimmel showed viewers the crowd at the event’s reaction to Michelle’s dig. The clip featured Obama, as well as Bill and Hillary Clinton, laughing at the line.
“We just saw the moment Hillary’s edible kicked in,” Kimmel joked, adding, “I miss seeing people who smile run the country.”
Kimmel also noted the contrast between the celebrity guest list at the Obamas’ event and the guest list at a typical Trump gathering.
“Look at this lineup of musicians: Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, Common, Eddie Vedder, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Marc Anthony, Marcie Martin, the Roots, Stevie Wonder, Thames, Bono, and The Edge,” Kimmel noted.
Referring to Trump’s planned America 250 musical event that quickly fell apart, Kimmel joked, “I guess [the Obamas] couldn’t get Vanilla Ice. What a bunch of losers!”
