The Obamas Brought “Ether” Energy to 2024 DNC Speeches

“Who’s going to tell him that the job he is currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs?” — Michelle Obama

Of course, it had to begin with the part of Michelle Obama’s speech that’s gotten the most “Ether” treatments.

It was a brilliant and unexpected dig at Trump, referencing a remark he made at the National Association of Black Journalists convention last month. Trump’s comments were as confusing as they were offensive. “I will tell you that coming from the border, are millions and millions of people that happen to be taking Black jobs,” he said at the time. Michelle wasn’t having it, and her response was fiery and emphatic.

“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us,” Michelle Obama said. “See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black.”

Then, came the kicker: “I want to know — I want to know — who’s going to tell him, who’s going to tell him, that the job he is currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs?”

“There’s the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes.” — Barack Obama

Delivered by Barack Obama, this line highlighted Trump’s attacks at Vice President Kamala Harris both prior to and after officially becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. But what made the line resonate was Obama emphasizing that crowd sizes remark by making a suggestive hand gesture that likely made some of the older DNC attendees blush.

“America, hope is making a comeback.” — Michelle Obama

Although brief, it’s a line that carries so much optimism and legacy. Hope was central to Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign: a powerful word that meant so much as he fought to become president and meant even more when he actually achieved it.

Now, with Harris potentially being the United States’ first Black woman president, she joins the lineage of Barack Obama’s hope. A woman with the possibility of making even more history than she already has, bringing hope to people that not only look up to her, but a nation desperately in need of it too.

“We don’t trust each other as much because we don’t take the time to know each other.” — Barack Obama

Toward the end of his speech, Barack Obama offered words that felt soberingly poignant as he acknowledged how, despite having so many avenues to make connections with people, we’re still disconnected.

“We live in a time of such confusion and rancor, with a culture that puts a premium on things that don’t last: money, fame, status, likes,” he said. “We chase the approval of strangers on our phones. We build all manner of walls and fences around ourselves, and then we wonder why we feel so alone. We don’t trust each other as much because we don’t take the time to know each other. And in that space between us, politicians and algorithms teach us to caricature each other and troll each other and fear each other.”

It was a moment that highlighted how peculiar it is to live in a world driven by social media and the role that it plays in all facets of our lives — for better or worse. But it was also a reminder of the importance of trying to overcome the fear of misunderstanding each other, and trying our best to get to know each other to create a less-divided nation.