Michelle Obama slams Trump: 'This isn't about politics — this is about basic human decency'

"This is not politics as usual," she said. "This is disgraceful."
 By 
Tim Chester
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Michelle Obama delivered a powerful rebuttal Thursday of Donald Trump's obscene comments about women, in which she said, "Now is the time for all of us to stand up and say, 'enough is enough.'"

Speaking passionately at a campaign event for Hillary Clinton in Manchester, New Hampshire, the first lady forcefully denounced the Republican candidate for the comments he was heard making on a leaked tape from 2005 as well as his behavior toward women in general.

"I can't believe I'm saying a candidate for President of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women," she said during the impassioned speech. "I can't stop thinking about this. It has shaken me to my core."

"Strong men … don’t need to put down women to make themselves feel powerful," Obama continued. She said Trump should be taken to account for "bragging about kissing and groping women."

"It's that feeling of terror and violation that too many women have felt when someone has grabbed them, or forced himself on them and they've said no, but he didn't listen," she added, visibly moved as the speech continued.

"This is not normal," she sad. "This is not politics as usual. This is disgraceful. It is intolerable."

Here's the speech in full.

In the leaked audio, Trump was heard telling TV personality Billy Bush how he once tried to sleep with a married woman. He also said that he was "automatically attracted to beautiful women" and that fame gave him the authority to kiss them. "I don't even wait," he was heard saying. "And when you're a star they let you do it ... Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything."

Trump was accused of multiple instances of sexual misconduct Thursday. Two women came forward to the New York Times, prompting the candidate to threaten legal action against the paper, while another woman told the Palm Beach Post that Trump groped her and a People reporter wrote a first person account, saying Trump forcibly kissed her during an interview on the occasion of his first wedding anniversary with Melania Trump.

Mashable Image
Tim Chester

Tim Chester was Senior Editor, Real Time News in Los Angeles. Before that he was Deputy Editor of Mashable UK in London. Prior to joining Mashable, Tim was a Senior Web Editor at Penguin Random House, helping to relaunch the Rough Guides website and other travel brands. He was also a writer for Buzzfeed, GQ and The Sunday Times, covering everything from culture to tech and current affairs. Before that, he was Deputy Editor at NME.COM, overseeing content and development on the London-based music and entertainment site. Tim loves music and travel and has combined these two passions at festivals from Iceland to Malawi and beyond.

Mashable Potato

Recommended For You
Prime Video will restrict basic users to HD streaming
By Jack Dawes
Fallout TV Show

Jimmy Kimmel slams Trump and Musk over latest Epstein files release
A man stands on a talk show stage pointing towards the camera.

Jimmy Kimmel slams Fox News for hypocritical response to recent Trump appearance
A man in a suit stands on a talk show stage. Text is visible at the bottom of the screen.

Jimmy Kimmel trolls Trump with old footage of him talking about Obama and Iran
Jimmy Kimmel presents his show.

Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show: Will he call out ICE?
Bad Bunny performs onstage at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 17, 2025 in Hollywood, California

Trending on Mashable
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 3, 2026
Connections game on a smartphone

Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 3, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone

NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 4, 2026
Connections game on a smartphone

Google launches Gemma 4, a new open-source model: How to try it
Google Gemma

Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 4, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone
The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
These newsletters may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. By clicking Subscribe, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!