Michelle Obama returns to political spotlight with DNC speech backing Harris

(CHICAGO) — Former first lady Michelle Obama took center stage at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, along with her husband former President Barack Obama, throwing their formidable political weight behind Kamala Harris.

The speeches mark a return for the Obamas to Chicago, where Michelle Obama grew up and where Barack Obama began his political career.

“Something something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn’t it?” she said after receiving a long standing ovation from the crowd. “You know, we’re feeling it here in this arena, but it’s spreading all across this country. We love a familiar feeling that’s been buried too deep for far too long. You know what I’m talking about. It’s the contagious power of hope.”

“Hope” was a key campaign slogan that defined Barack Obama’s presidential run in 2008.

“The anticipation, the energy, the exhilaration of once again being on the cusp of a brighter day,” Michelle Obama continued. “The chance to vanquish the demons of fear, division and hate that have consumed us and continue pursuing the unfinished promise of this great nation, the dream that our parents and grandparents fought and died and sacrificed for. America, hope is making a comeback.”

Michelle Obama remains one of the most popular figures in the Democratic Party, despite her aversion to partisan politics. Her goodwill with the party is so high that when Biden struggled in his campaign this past year, her name was floated as a possible alternative to take his place atop the ticket.

Several days after Biden dropped out of the race, the Obamas threw their support behind Harris. Their endorsement emphasized their 20-year friendship with Harris, saying she has the character and resume to meet the moment.

Cementing their support was a video released by the Harris campaign showing a phone call between the vice president and the Obamas. The video racked up millions of views on social media.

“I can’t have this phone call without saying to my girl, Kamala, I am proud of you,” Michelle Obama told Harris. “This is going to be historic.”

Her remarks on Tuesday will lay out how Harris is ready to lead and “turn the page on fear and division,” according to a source. She will also speak on the need for everyone to do their part to elect the Harris-Walz ticket, the source said.

Michelle Obama has maintained a relatively low profile this election cycle, and the DNC will mark her biggest appearance in the race so far.

“Politics is hard. And the people who get into it — it’s just like marriage, it’s just like kids — you’ve got to want it. It’s got to be in your soul, because it is so important. It is not in my soul. Service is in my soul,” Michelle Obama told Oprah last year.

Barack Obama, during a political fundraiser for Biden in California earlier this summer, was asked if either of his daughters would ever venture into politics. The former president joked, “That is a question I do not need to answer because Michelle drilled into them so early that you would be crazy to go into politics. It will never happen.”

Still, Michelle Obama has stepped in to support Democrats since leaving the White House. She also leads the nonpartisan initiative When We All Vote, which works to register new voters.

During the 2020 campaign, she gave a keynote address at the virtual DNC in which she praised Biden’s character and criticized Donald Trump’s record on COVID, race issues and more.

In a play on her famous 2016 mantra, “When they go low, we go high,” Michelle Obama said at the last DNC that “going high means taking the harder path” and accepting the truth.

“So let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country,” she said in the 2020 speech. “He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is.”

ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks contributed to this report.

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