Michelle Obama broadly slammed Donald Trump Friday at a rally supporting Hillary Clinton — kicking it off with the Republican's public acknowledgment on President Barack Obama's birthplace.
"People had all kinds of questions about what kind of president Barack would be," the first lady told students at George Mason University in Northern Virginia, reflecting on when Obama was first elected in 2008. "Things like: 'Does he understand us?' 'Will he protect us?'
"And then, of course, there were those who questioned — and continue to question, for the past eight years, up through this very day — whether my husband was even born in this country.
"During his time in office, I think Barack has answered those questions with the example he set by going high when they go low," Michelle Obama said as the crowd cheered.
Trump publicly acknowledged the president's citizenship earlier Friday after years of challenging it while laying the foundation for a White House run.
"President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period," Trump said at his new hotel in Washington before blaming Clinton for first raising the birther issue during the 2008 campaign.
Michelle Obama then launched into some of the challenges her husband has faced during his two terms — from Osama bin Laden to Hurricane Sandy to the Gulf Coast oil spill — saying that they required a president "who is going to take this job seriously.
"Someone who will study and prepare so that they understand the issues better than anyone else on their team," the first lady said. "We need someone not with good judgment but with superb judgment in their own right.
"We also need someone who is steady and measured because when you're making life-or-death, war-or-peace decisions, a president can't just pop off."
Obama then touted Clinton as the "only one person with the qualifications and temperament for the job."
"Hillary has the resilience that it takes to do this job," Obama said. "When she gets knocked down, she doesn't complain or cry foul. No. She gets right back up and she comes back stronger for the people who need her the most.
"No one in our lifetime has ever had as much experience and exposure to the presidency — not Barack, not Bill [Clinton], as he would say, nobody," she later added. "And, yes, she happens to be a woman.
"We cannot afford to squander this opportunity, particularly given the alternative."
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