"I can't believe that I'm saying that a candidate for President of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women."
And so First Lady Michelle Obama captured the sentiments of a majority of Americans during an emotional stump speech for Hillary Clinton on Thursday afternoon that lambasted Republican nominee Donald Trump's repeated demeaning and derogatory treatment of women.
Speaking before a crowd in Manchester, New Hampshire, Mrs. Obama stated that the leaked Access Hollywood video of Trump bragging about groping, kissing, and trying to have sex with women has "shaken [her] to [her] core."
"It would be dishonest and disingenuous to move on to the next thing like this was all just a bad dream," the First Lady said. "We can't sweep this under the rug as another sad foot note in a disturbing election season. This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behavior."
Refusing to call Trump by name—only referring to him as Hillary Clinton's "opponent"—Mrs. Obama denounced the Republican candidate's defense of his past remarks as simple "locker room talk" while explaining how personal these comments felt to her—and for all women.
For Trump, the 2005 Access Hollywood appearance was not an isolated incident. He has gone on record numerous times to comment on women in, typically, one of two ways: As objects of his own sexual gratification or as threats that should be wholly diminished for their intellect, ambition, or appearance. Though Trump has repeatedly claimed the "locker room talk" defense since the tape leaked last Friday, numerous women have since come forward to report their own sexual assaults at the hands of Donald Trump—meaning that this wasn't just talk, it was predatory action.
Like millions of Americans, Mrs. Obama, felt shock and outrage over Trump's behavior, and could not believe that there are still people in this country who view women with such little regard, let alone the fact that one of them is trying to become the next President of the United States.
"This is not normal. This not politics as usual. This is disgraceful," Mrs. Obama said. "It doesn't matter what party you belong to—Democrat, Republican, Independent—no woman deserves to be treated this way."
Asserting that Trump is in no way qualified for the executive branch or be a role model for children who look up to the president, the first lady then praised Hillary Clinton for her longstanding commitment to public service (even saying that she has more experience than both "Barack or Bill"), before declaring that the former secretary of state would be the only candidate who could unite the country and guide the American public with strength and compassion.
Making a call to undecided voters, Mrs. Obama urged them not to cast a protest vote or sit the election out entirely, saying that doing so would only help clear a path for Trump to the White House. She referenced the 2012 election, in which President Obama won New Hampshire by 4,000 votes. Though that figure might have seemed like a definitive victory for the incumbent president, it broke down to a total of just 66 votes per precinct—or, dozens of votes that could make or break a candidate's victory.
She additionally cited the power of women voters in this election, and the influence they can have in choosing the next president. A recent report from Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight election forecast suggested that if only women voted, Hillary Clinton would win by an overwhelming majority (which, horrifyingly, prompted a #Repealthe19th social media campaign among Trump supporters). Mrs. Obama invited all women to take this power seriously and use it to elect a candidate who has not only been a pillar of support for women, but would teach America's children that any kind of degrading, hateful rhetoric is wholly unacceptable.
"We, as women, have all the power we need to determine the outcome of this election," Mrs. Obama said. "We have the knowledge, we have a voice, we have a vote. And on November 8, we as women, we as Americans, we as decent human beings, can declare that enough is enough and we do not tolerate this kind of behavior."
Source: http://www.glamour.com/story/michelle-obama-expressed-the-horror-were-all-feeling-about-donald-trumps-treatment-of-women
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