During her time as First Lady, Michelle Obama has captivated audiences with her speeches. She has spoken about her experience as a black woman competing in the very white field of academia and has not been afraid to call out Donald Trump’s sexist comments. While campaigning for Hillary Clinton last month in New Hampshire, Michelle pointed out how this election cycle is different. She said, “This is not normal. This is not politics as usual.” Michelle later added about Trump’s sexist rhetoric, “It has shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn’t have predicted.”
Michelle Obama is a genius speaker in her own right. Like Barack, she knows how to engage an audience with a mixture of sharp intelligence and accessibility. She’s blessed stages from Greensboro, North Carolina, to Qatar with grace and confidence. In honor of Michelle’s last days in the White House, here are five of her most impactful speeches.