How To Watch Michelle Obama’s Speech On Trump

On Thursday, while speaking in Manchester, New Hampshire, First Lady Michelle Obama forcefully slammed Donald Trump. Taking the stage, she both praised Hillary Clinton, but the main focus seemed to be decisively tackling Trump — and the message his presidential campaign was sending to the children of America. "Last week we saw this candidate actually bragging about sexual assaulting women," Obama said. "I can't believe I'm saying that a candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women.

Obama went on to skewer the Republican presidential nominee and was quick to zone in on the comments that Trump made in the 2005 hot mic video, uncovered last week, in which he bragged about grabbing women without their consent. "This was not just a lewd conversation. This wasn’t locker room banter," Obama said. "If we have a president who routinely degrades women ... how can we maintain our moral authority in the world?"

"It doesn't matter what party you belong to, no woman deserves to be treated this way," Obama said. She also said, "This isn't an isolated incident. It's one of countless examples of how he's treated women in his entire life." Perhaps one of the most cutting was her line:

Strong men — men who are truly role models — don’t need to put down women to make themselves feel powerful.

Obama warned that if Trump is elected president, "We're telling all our kids that bullying and bigotry is perfectly acceptable in the leader of our country." By framing Trump's potential Election Day win as more than a political loss for the Democrats but a dire, dangerous message to the boys and girls of America she stressed how incredibly high the stakes were. "Not just as women, but as parents trying to protect our children and raise them to be caring, respectful adults. And as citizens who think our nation's leaders should meet basic standards of human decency.”

Obama played up the moral issues at stake this presidential election to explicitly discourage Americans from casting "protest votes." Obama also included in her speech her now oft-repeated line, "When they go low, we go high." She concluded by encouraging Americans to not only vote for Clinton but to hit the streets and actively campaign for the former secretary of state. "We need someone who will heal the wounds that divide us,” Obama said. "Someone who truly cares about us and our children."