Why Michelle Obama’s ‘Black jobs’ moment at the DNC was such a big deal

For many Americans sick of the hateful, violent, and downright unintelligible rambling of the former president, Donald Trump, the Democratic National Convention has been a breath of fresh air. Well-spoken and qualified professionals from all walks of life have gathered in Chicago over the convention’s first two days to endorse Kamala Harris as the next commander-in-chief.

Among those in attendance have been senators, a former press secretary, the second gentleman Doug Emhoff, the grandson of Jimmy Carter, the cousin of Robert F. Kennedy (not RFK Jr) Jack Schlossberg, and of course, Barack and Michelle Obama.

While both of the Obamas wowed crowds and left bystanders in patriotic tears as well as stitches, the former first lady delivered a truly legendary remark — and a damning rebuke — of Trump’s recent campaign diatribe. You know the one.

What did Michelle Obama mean by “black jobs,” and why was it so impactful?

For those who’ve ditched the political sideshow in an effort to avoid a Tums-exclusive diet for ulcer suppression brought about by the felon’s never-ceasing antics, Mrs. Obama’s jab might seem like it came out of left field. It wasn’t.

Most of her speech was packed with the inspiring messages that made her and her husband so popular in 2008. She spoke at length about hope, the strength needed to build a better life for both ourselves and our children, and the strength she sees in Harris, delivering it all with a refreshing eloquence that has been missing from politics since the emergence of Trump.  

But just like her husband, the former first lady has a devilish sense of humor, and she used it to blast the dementia-riddled septuagenarian. She pointed to his privileged existence, saying,

“We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. If we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis we don’t get a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th chance. If things don’t go our way, we don’t have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead. No, we don’t get to change the rules, so we always win.”

That clear condemnation of Trump’s privilege wasn’t enough, though. Trump harassed the Obamas for years. He started the birther movement which questioned where Barack Obama was born and subsequently called into question the validity of his presidency. According to Axios, Obama’s chief of staff claimed, “It was an attempt to totally discredit [Obama’s] credibility as a person.”

The former first lady harkened back to the harassment, saying,

“For years Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. See, his limited narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking and highly educated, successful people who happen to be black.

Now, who’s going to go tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘Black Jobs’?”

When did Trump talk about “Black jobs?”

Trump’s interview with the National Association of Black Journalists all but proved he is so completely removed from anyone whose skin is darker than his that he hardly knows how to act around POCs. But it wasn’t that racist interview Mrs. Obama was referencing. Instead, it was the racist, nonsensical rambling from June 2024 she was alluding to.

Trump brought up “Black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs” of his own volition during the first and only debate against President Joe Biden on June 27, 2024. When asked about immigration, Trump let loose his usual word vomit before launching into his anti-immigration stance, saying the “big kill on the black people is the millions of people that he’s allowed to come in through the border, they’re taking black jobs now.” He plowed on, asserting that it could be as many as “18, it could be 19, or even 20 million people. They’re taking black jobs and they’re taking Hispanic jobs.”

The former president has never bothered to clarify what he meant by that claim. Since his comments, Black Americans across the country have taken to social media to ridicule the former president, but finding the humor in a bad situation doesn’t subtract from the right’s disregard for people of color.

The very notion that Trump believes jobs can be color-coded shows just how out of touch he is. It perpetuates harmful stereotypes about immigrants and African Americans and shows that in Trumpland, people of color have a predestined role in society. If the American people have anything to say about it come November, Trump will see his own predestined role come to pass, right in the trash bin next to the rest of the garbage.