Michelle Obama: Trump's presidency could be a “job for blacks”

By Stephanie Kelly

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Michelle Obama sharply attacked Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, criticizing his character and racist attacks she and her husband Barack have faced in the past.

“His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated and successful people who happened to be black,” she said of Trump.

She also mocked Trump for his references to “black jobs” during the campaign, which he claimed were being taken away from black Americans by migrants entering the United States.

“Who's going to tell him that the job he's currently looking for might be one of those 'black jobs'?” Obama asked, drawing enthusiastic responses from the crowd.

The former First Lady thus supported the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, who will officially accept the party's nomination as presidential candidate at the party convention and, if elected, would be the first black person of South Asian background to become president.

Michelle Obama also drew a contrast with Trump and most Americans who did not grow up in wealthy circumstances like Trump, whose father was a real estate investor.

“We will never benefit from positive discrimination in generational wealth,” she said. “If we bankrupt a company … or drown in a crisis, we don't get a second, third or fourth chance,” she said. “If things don't go the way we want them to, we don't have the luxury of complaining or cheating others to get ahead.”

(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Heather Timmons and Deepa Babington)