Democrats were reminded of what they are missing on Saturday night as Michelle Obama tore into Donald Trump in a Michigan stump speech for Kamala Harris.
The former first lady, who once again said that she 'hates politics,' still inspires devotion from liberals and hypothetical polling shows her as a much more competitive Trump challenger than Harris.
She called for a 'grown up in the White House' and blasted Trump for lies, childish antics and moral decline before making an emotional appeal directly to men.
The speech drew praise from Democrats online, with many stating that Michelle Obama would have been a better presidential candidate than Harris.
'Michelle Obama working on the stump this weekend like she knows that if Harris doesn't get elected she's gonna be asked to run for office every f***ing day for the next four years,' one X user wrote.
Another Harris/Walz backer said: 'If Harris doesn't win, Michelle Obama needs to run in 2028.'
'Michelle Obama would be THE BEST PRESIDENT! I won't question her reasons not to run, but when a woman of her incredible intelligence & unquestionable ethic backs a candidate, then please understand that that person is worthy of your support,' said another.
Half-jokingly, another wrote: 'If Trump wins let's all collectively blame Michelle Obama for putting her own lack of desire to run for POTUS over stopping fascism because every time I hear her speak, I am reminded there is no way she wouldn't have won both the nomination and the general election.'
'Michelle Obama would cruise if she ever decided to run,' said a Harris voter watching the speech.
Polling from as recently as this past July suggest that last tweet might be correct.
A Reuters survey released then showed that 55 percent of registered voters hold a favorable opinion of Michelle Obama.
Michelle was also the only Democrat in the poll who commanded enough public support to potentially defeat the former president in an election.
In fact, she blew Trump out the water in a head-to-head matchup (50 percent to 39 percent).
Harris and other potential Biden substitutes – including ambitious California Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer – were either tied or lagged behind Trump.
That said, Obama was fierce and in favor of Harris when she spoke in Kalamazoo Saturday, first reciting the critiques of the vice president.
'They accuse her of not providing enough policy detail. Some wonder, do we really know her? Is she too aggressive? Is she not aggressive enough? There are folks sowing seeds of doubt about whether she's who she appears to be,' she said.
'Now, don't get me wrong, voters have every right to ask hard questions of any candidate seeking office, but can someone tell me why we are once again holding Kamala to a higher standard than her opponent?
'These folks know that nothing this man says or does is funny in any way. So I hope you'll forgive me if I'm a little frustrated that some of us are choosing to ignore Donald Trump's gross incompetence while asking Kamala to dazzle us at every turn.'
Obama made plenty of time for harsh words against Trump.
'When the American people fired him from a job that was too big for him to begin with, he tried to steal it,' she said.
She exclaimed at how much the idea of a second Trump term worries her for the future of the United States.
'I hope that you will forgive me if I am worried that we will blow this opportunity to finally turn the page on the ugliness once and for all, because, believe me, if Donald Trump is president again at some point or another, that ugliness will touch all of our lives.'
Obama biographers – who spent hours interviewing those close to the family – still insist there is 'absolutely nothing' that would convince her to pursue the presidency.
Her time in the White House was such an 'ordeal' nothing would persuade her to go back, Peter Slevin, author of 'Michelle Obama: A Life', told DailyMail.com.
'It was eight years of an ordeal. And she asks: "Why would I do that again and try to be in charge?",' he said.
'She doesn't want to put herself through it for one thing, and she feels as though she's done her time in the public eye.'
It's easy to see why Michelle has been put off.
In her eight years as First Lady, she endured years of racist and sexist personal attacks.
Even more distressing than the personal attacks were the conspiracy theories.
And while the attacks continued, Michelle had to grapple with the sudden and profound loss of privacy and autonomy that any first family faces.
In particular, she struggled to raise her two young daughters Malia and Sasha with a degree of normalcy.
However, she and Barack both endorsed Harris when she declared her intention to run and Michelle has now appeared multiple times to get out the vote for the vice president.
