While stumping on the campaign trail for Hillary Clinton, First Lady Michelle Obama admitted that her family will soon leave the White House. The crowd balked at that notion, even going so far as to start chanting “Four more years!”
“My family is almost at the end of our time at the White House,” Mrs. Obama said, to loud shouts of “NO!” But the first lady insisted, “Yeah, it’s almost time.”
Mrs. Obama struggled to speak over the crowd, which began chanting, “Four more years! Four more years!”
“And let me say, I have to say … nope. No,” she said, waving her hand dismissively as the crowd continued chanting. Then she broke down laughing, overwhelmed by the support.
“Let me say this, you have me and Barack working on your behalf for the rest of our lives, so no need to worry. We’re gonna be here,” Mrs. Obama concluded.
Conservatives have long attacked Hillary Clinton, saying that she is effectively running for Obama’s “third term.” Does this event cement that vision? Or does the crowd chanting “Four more years!” suggest a distaste for the incoming new face of the Democrat Party, and a preference for the older one?
In recent polling, 64 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the sitting first lady, while 32 percent see her unfavorably, giving Michelle Obama a positive 32 percent favorability. By contrast, in the RealClearPolitics average, only 41.4 percent of Americans view Hillary Clinton favorably, while 55.1 percent have a negative view, giving Hillary a negative score of 13.7 percent.
The rally in Fairfax, Virginia, was Michelle Obama’s first public appearance as a surrogate for the Hillary Clinton campaign, but it seemed as though the crowd would have preferred to rally for sitting first lady, rather than a former one.
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