When Trump Criticized Michelle Obama for Campaigning While Failing to 'Run Her Home': "Can't Do It"

Donald Trump has mastered the art of slamming. Among his other rivals, former First Lady Michelle Obama once tasted the bitterness of his verbal attacks in the last leg of the 2016 presidential race. The Republican front-runner took a swipe at Michelle, attacking her for the remarks she once made about Hillary Clinton on who can and cannot "take care" of the White House. 

The now-78-year-old took a dig during a rally in North Carolina, "His [Barack Obama] wife, all she wants to do is campaign. And I see how much his wife likes Hillary. But wasn't she the one that originally started the statement: If you can't take care of your home, you can't take care of the White House or the country," referring to an unflattering remark Michelle made for Clinton in 2008 when she ran for the Democratic nomination against then-Senator Obama, as per Daily Mail. 

Although the former First Lady made that comment, the White House denied her statement was aimed at the Clintons. Instead, they clarified that Michelle was referring to their own balance of politics and family, responding indirectly to Trump. Michelle and her husband, Barack Obama, emphatically denied taking a swipe at Clinton, the Democrat they ardently advocated in the 2016 elections against Trump. 

Apparently, the remark in question was made during an August 2007 event where Michelle addressed the crowd in Chicago. Although Trump covered a major part of her quote, he tweaked it to make it more favorable for him. Here's what the now-60-year-old said, "One of the things — the important aspects of this race — is role modeling what good families should look like." 

Michelle continued, "And my view is that if you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House. Can't do it." In a separate rally in Iowa, she repeated her statement and explained how Obama and she ensure their girls are well taken care of while the couple go on trips for work. 

"So we've adjusted our schedules to make sure that our girls are first, so while he's traveling around, I do day trips," added Michelle. "That means I get up in the morning, I get the girls ready, I get them off, I go and do trips, I'm home before bedtime." The media misconstrued the statement with headlines like "Michelle Obama Slamming Hillary Clinton." 

Furthermore, then-senator Obama confronted the media's interpretation in a conference call with the reporters, "Anybody who's been listening to Michelle on the stump, she's talked about the importance of family and the need for our family to be sure that we're thinking about our kids during the process of this campaign," per The Washington Post.

A pro-Trump Super PAC paid for an ad titled "Can't Run Her House," capitalizing on Michelle's 2007 remarks. However, the Clinton campaign sent cease-and-desist letters to four television channels to stop airing the advert as Michelle was Clinton's fiercest supporter during the 2016 elections against Trump.