Michelle Obama Snubs Biden In DNC Speech
A CNN panel on Wednesday highlighted the significance of former First Lady Michelle Obama’s decision not to mention President Joe Biden during her speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on Tuesday.
During her approximately 20-minute speech at the DNC, Michelle Obama spoke before introducing former President Barack Obama. CNN host John Berman and political director David Chalian, on “CNN News Central,” observed that while the former first lady refrained from discussing Biden, the former president devoted a segment of his speech to the current president.
“Barack Obama, the president, literally said ‘passing the torch’ so it’s not subtle. With Michelle Obama, there was something that she did, which was almost, ‘we’re passing the torch over Joe Biden.’ She didn’t mention Joe Biden,” Berman said.
CNN Panel Says It 'Was Hard Not To Notice' Michelle Obama Snubbing Joe Biden In DNC Speech pic.twitter.com/XrDg0vmZrC
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 21, 2024
“That was hard not to notice, right? She had zero mention of Joe Biden, the person that her husband put on the ticket and sort of elevated him to this new potential in his long-storied career,” Chalian responded. “And yet Barack Obama did make sure to dedicate several paragraphs of the speech to Joe Biden and to give him a tribute. Perhaps … that was one reason why Michelle Obama didn’t feel it was necessary. She knew it was the husband’s speech. But also we know that Michelle Obama saw her role here as far different. It wasn’t to check every box of a political speech.”
Chalian also described the former first lady as a “cultural figure” who “transcends politics in many ways.”
Similarly, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz did not mention President Biden during their first rally together after Harris selected the governor as her running mate.
Former President Barack Obama praised “selfless” Biden for passing the baton in his address to the Democratic National Convention — just weeks after playing a leading role in a behind-the-scenes pressure campaign to bury the president’s re-election bid. https://t.co/wiDJd3w9Je pic.twitter.com/clc8nUGhJf
— New York Post (@nypost) August 21, 2024
The Obamas endorsed Kamala Harris for president five days after Joe Biden announced he would not seek reelection.
On Monday, Biden took the DNC stage much later than scheduled, delivering his primetime address close to midnight on the East Coast. Former CNN political analyst Chris Cillizza speculated that Biden’s frustration might be the reason behind his immediate departure from the DNC to California for a vacation following his speech.
“Joe Biden is pissed. He wanted his legacy to end differently,” he said. “But I think it’s really important to note he’s a human being, and what has transpired over the last two months is really, really, really difficult. And the fact that he’s shuttling out of the convention on Monday night after he gives the speech is super, super telling.”
