Michelle Obama made her first campaign appearance with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Thursday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in what was meant to encourage early voting in the battleground state.
Clinton warned Thursday the “dignity and respect for women and girls is also on the ballot in this election,” taking a clear shot at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his treatment of women, before Michelle Obama spoke.
“Michelle reminds us to work hard, stay true to our values, be good to one another, and never, ever stop fighting for what we believe in,” Clinton said. “She has spent eight years as our first lady advocating for girls around the world to go to school.”
She added: “Seriously — is there anyone more inspiring than Michelle Obama?”
Michelle Obama has become Clinton’s most powerful campaigner — a bit of a surprise given the grueling and sometimes bitter primary race in 2008 between Clinton and then-Senator Barack Obama.
However, beginning with her July Democratic National Convention speech in Philadelphia, Michelle Obama has attempted to boost Clinton’s favorability ratings by pitching the Democratic nominee as one who would be best suited for preserving President Obama’s accomplishments and who would rise above the most negative elements of the presidential cycle.
“When they go low, we go high,” Obama said at the convention — a line that Clinton has since used against her Republican rival Donald Trump.
