michelle still carries that forward every time she walks into a room. >> when you've worked hard and done well and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. to, you reach back and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed. >> from the moment they entered the white house, it becomes historic. but this is also a representation of american's better selves. >> that is the story of this country, the story that has brought me to this stage tonight, the story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done. so, don't let anyone ever tell

you that this country isn't great, that somehow we need to make it great again because this right now is the greatest country on earth. ♪ >> when you were little, did you ever want to be the first lady? >> no, i didn't. i didn't know i could be the first lady. sometimes you can only be what you know exists in the world, and no one like me was ever the first lady of the united states. [ cheers and applause ]

>> all first ladies are thrust into the spotlight, but michelle obama will be scrutinized more intensely than any of her predecessors. >> we talk about civil rights history. we talk about all these series of firsts. this is within our lifetime. >> are you prepared to take the oath, senator? >> i am. >> it took my breath away. i thought, this is really happening. >> i stand here today humbled by the task before us. >> the sea of humanity spread as far as the eye can see. >> mindful of the sacrifices bourn by our ancestors. >> the reality of what they were about to embark on must have been very, very vivid for her at that moment. >> michelle traveled farther and overcame more on her journey to the white house than any first lady before her. >> she knew that she was making history and that her movements would be scrutinized ten times,

a hundred times more than any other first lady. >> everything that michelle obama has been doing in her life has really been preparing her to walk this tight rope. >> michelle was integral to barack obama's presidential campaign from the beginning. >> so we're looking forward to the first day of school. welcome back. i know that all the parents out here are happy to have their kids out of their house. you can admit it. let's give a cheer for that. >> 15 months before the election, polls showed barack obama trailing hillary clinton by double digits. >> we've got two beautiful little girls, and we have a wonderful life. nothing would have been more disruptive than a decision to run for president of the united states. >> she knew enough about race in america, about breaking barriers, to know what that would mean for her. that she would face constant criticism, constant scrutiny.,

that she would face constant criticism, constant scrutiny. who would raise their hand enthusiastically and say sign me up for that? >> but, you know, the reason why i said yes was because i am tired of being afraid. the game of politics is to make you afraid so that you don't think. we have a chance to make something real happen. think about that, and help us. >> in schools, churches, county fairs across iowa, michelle tells their story to voters month after month after month. >> for someone who avoided politics for much of her life, she had to take a crash course in it. his political career was always very separate from her. >> michelle has never publicly engaged in any of her husband's political campaigns, but she was influential behind the scenes. >> my first meaningful exchange

with michelle was, when we were filming our first ad -- >> i'm barack obama. i'm running for the united states senate, and i approve this message to say, yes, we can. >> he turned to me, and said, yes, we can. yes, we can. is that too corny? he turned to her and said what do you think? she said, not corny. so right away i saw where i stood in the pantheon of strategic advisers. other than that, she was happy to keep her distance from all of it. >> what many people don't know is she was actually the breadwinner in the family. vice president of community affairs and outreach at the university of chicago, and it is a big job and it is a job that she loved. >> it all changed when he decided to run for president. >> i said i'm not giving up my career for my husband. i'm giving up my career because i'm passionate about this. >> when we started, we were pretty casual about it because michelle was such an impressive person. we thought she's going to kill out there. >> let me tell you a little bit about michelle obama.

i'm a south side girl. very simple. my parents were working class folks. what we saw in my household was hard work and sacrifice first hand. >> she just told them her story. and her story is not that different than half the people she would meet in iowa. she talked about her parents and how she was raised. >> my father had multiple sclerosis, but he went to work every single day. he was never late, and he never made excuses. >> she moved into the barack obama years. >> this guy named barack obama who grew up in hawaii. that's what i learned about him on paper. i thought this guy has got to be weird. >> michelle knows her husband probably seems as unorthodox to her audiences as he did to her back in 1989. >> michelle was involved in recruiting a prominent law firm in chicago. and across her desk comes the résume of this hot shot from harvard who's being brought in as a summer associate. the firm asked if she would be his mentor. she meets him the first day.

he shows up late, but they really hit it off. at a certain point barack is interested in something more, wants to go out on a date. she agrees. >> i learned that he became a community organizer. i was impressed. this guy could have been making money, but he's working on the far south side with a bunch of churches. >> the entrance of barack obama into her life really shifted where she was headed. >> i met mrs. obama in the summer of '91 when she was michelle robinson. her resume was sent to me. it said a brilliant young lawyer exploring opportunities of service. i gave her a job offer on the spot. a few days later, she said, i've got bad news. my fiance doesn't think it's such a good idea. i said, who is your fiance, and why do we care what he thinks? i think they were mature before their time. there was not a step that he took without her sitting right there as well. it is a true partnership. >> in her memoir, "becoming,"

michelle describes their wedding in 1992. we stood there with our futures still unwritten. whatever was out there, we would step into it together. 15 years later, their shared future takes a dramatic turn. obama surges from behind to win iowa. michelle's months on the stump pay off. but now the couple must confront a new kind of challenge. >> there were concerns about his security that were very real and very dark. >> barack obama is given a security detail earlier than any other presidential candidate in history. >> there was a resignation in the black community that you cannot rise up without being chopped down. >> we've seen what has happened to iconic black leaders in america. >> metgar evers, malcolm x, dr.

king. if you come from the black community, almost every black hero you read about was killed. and only michelle who certainly had more to lose than the rest of us in the risk he was taking, could reassure people that it was worth the risk. >> we need a barack obama presidency right now. [ cheers and applause ] >> she would go in a room and not leave until every person in that room was committed. but because she was so effective, she came under attack. >> hope is making a comeback. it is making a comeback. and for the first time in my adult lifetime, i'm really proud of my country, and not just because barack has done well but because i think people are hungry for change. >> it is an unfortunate statement. i don't think it came out the way she intended. in the words of desi arnaz, she

has some splaining to do. >> it's a tough time to be black. to say we're on the verge of putting that behind us, she got smacked down hard for that. >> i want to say that i'm proud and always will be of my country. >> a conversation we didn't need to have but apparently we do. this, ladies and gentlemen, is called the fist pound. >> the reaction to the fist bump was ridiculous. >> could they even be jihadists? >> one person suggested on fox news -- >> one television network referred to her as barack obama's baby mama. >> michelle obama was met with every single negative stereotype about african-american women magnified but a million. and i think there were forces that felt if they assaulted her enough, maybe she and her entire family would go away. but they didn't. >> i called her in to show her what people were seeing, and i

turned the sound down and just let her see herself. >> -- live in a country in a world based on fear. >> she got it immediately. >> she was out on the campaign trail getting more and more passionate, and she had been so effective that i didn't see that it was being perceived as angry. >> the easy trope of the angry black woman, when in fact what she was displaying was passion. >> nobody had taken the time to flag for her sooner that she has to stop and pause and smile, or she has to use her hand gestures in a different way. >> she felt like she had failed. and she wasn't used to failing. >> she had a choice to make. go back home and pick up life with her children and her high-powered job, or did she just try to figure it out? >> in her memoir, michelle

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after a year and a half on the campaign trail, michelle prepares for her national debut. >> she was going to be watched by tens of million of people. this would be their first chance to really get to know her. >> and i come here as a mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world. >> she practiced her stump over and over and over again. >> and that's who she is. she prepares. >> and barack and i were raised with so many of the same values that you treat people with dignity and respect even if you don't know them and even if you don't agree with them. >> her favorable rate jumped 20 points overnight.

>> let's stand together to elect barack obama president of the united states of america. thank you. >> that was a real watershed event in her public life. >> michelle has survived a political trial by fire and emerges a star. >> malia, sasha, how do you think mom did? >> i think she did good. >> boosting her husband's popularity as well as her own. >> i think so too. >> and here we are. now cnn can project at 11:00 eastern time, that barack obama is the next president of the united states, the first african-american president in u.s. history. >> it feels like something really big and bold has happened here. like nothing ever in our life times did we expect this to happen. >> how could i be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for

the last 16 years? >> in her memoir, michelle describes that night. >> the love of our family, the love of my life -- >> it felt like her family got launched out of a cannon and into some strange underwater universe. >> the nation's next first lady, michelle obama. >> i still think about what it meant. that image of this splendid african-american family, now the first family of the country. >> the next day, headlines said change has come to america. and i remember thinking at the time, people will interpret that headline in very different ways. >> on inauguration day, everyone was celebrating, but there was in the back of everyone's mind the fact that in the morning, we

were going to come in to face an epic financial crisis, two wars and more pressures than any president had faced probably since franklin roosevelt. and michelle, the god's honest truth is i don't think she knew what she was going to make of the position. and it took her some time to figure it out. >> there is, as michelle puts it, no handbook for incoming first ladies. >> the role of the first lady is a throwback. we set up the white house as a royal court, in a way. and i think for michelle obama, a modern woman, a career woman, to suddenly be the great man's wife was an adjustment. >> she describes the role as a strange kind of side car to the presidency. >> the first lady is not a job. i mean, hillary clinton learned that when she turned it into a

job. we don't want that. that's going too far. >> she said the one that she took the greatest inspiration from was laura bush. >> after a bruising campaign, michelle is determined to >> she starts with a simple state, deeper than it first appears. >> how would you define your role as first lady? >> i joke that my first job is going to be mom in chief. with little kids, i have to make sure that their feet are on the ground. >> obviously she will be mom in chief. >> she's not shy about being the mom in chief. >> describe her role more as first lady -- >> she was concerned about her daughters but was also just a savvy way of saying, don't worry. this isn't a twofer. i'm not here to make policy despite my executive experience. >> if i want to play the traditional first lady role, i can. but don't be fooled.

in a country that consistently demonizes black mothers, welfare queens, drug addicts, because of the decline of the black family. a state as simple as, i'm first mom and that's my priority is something that is profound because it is something that has been denied to black women for so long. >> she decided in creating her role as first lady, that she was always going to keep in mind the young michelle obama. she says in her memoir, i grew up to the sound of striving. that's what the south side of the chicago was. one of the biggest receptacles for people leaving alabama and mississippi. >> michelle's great aunt and great uncle bought a house on the south shore and invited michelle's mother and father, and of course, michelle and craig, who were then toddlers to move in with them. >> she grew up with grand parents around the corner.

>> her parents and grand parents were ambitious, they were smart but there were obstacles every step of the way. >> i grew up playing basketball with michelle's older brother craig. they were shaped by the community. they were forged by the community. and i think she acutely felt the inequity in resources, the inequity in education opportunity. >> in many ways, chicago is the place to create michelle obama. it's a place that is undergirded by a lot of the racial tensions in inequality that will shape her viewpoint in the world. >> this is where dr. king went and was defeated. the poverty and the racism in chicago is so profound that even dr. king can't move it an inch. >> i have never seen even in

mississippi and alabama as hostile and hate-filled as i've seen in chicago. >> chicago is a place where politicians are corrupt and idealists go to get defeated. she grew up in the middle of all that. it had been a very long time since politics has been a source of inspiration for anybody. >> for many, the obamas represent the triumph of inspiration of politics but her optimism is tempered by what she calls the ugly red versus blue dynamic which has taken over washington. >> she goes to watch her husband give her first speech to a joint session of congress. >> members of congress, the first lady of the united states. >> she's looking over this sea as she describes it, the sea of whiteness and maleness. this is ceremonial. but it is more than. that symbolic. >> now is the time to act boldly and wisely.

>> she is very aware of the body language and the expressions of many republicans in a way that their arms are crossed. >> in her memoir, michelle recalls that republican members of congress looked obstinate and angry. >> the american people expect to us give common ground. >> more than anything she asks, it seemed they just wanted barack to fail. >> thank you. god bless you and may god bless the united states of america. >> she watches as all the republicans remain seated but the first lady is being watched as well. the next day she gets a lesson about life in the spotlight. >> this may have been one of the most talked about moments from last night. michelle obama and her sleeveless dress. >> style over substance. it's always under fair but it was especially unfair for michelle obama because jackie kennedy wasn't criticized for completely changing the look of the first lady. >> with michelle obama showing a liking for the sleeveless look,

even in winter, baring arms has a whole new meaning inside the beltway. >> the people zeroed in on her arms because they were not the arms of a fragile damsel who was white. nonwhite americans have for years looked at a white first lady and were so able to say that she represented them. but i think it becomes much more challenging for some white americans to look at a black first lady and see themselves in her. instead, they simply saw her as an alien. i can't wiat to share at&t's big 5g news... (shouting through the glass) at&t has nationwide 5g? yup! and that's faster?

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four months into the obamas' first term, michelle takes her first official trip abroad accompanying her husband to london. for the g-20 summit. >> that level of scrutiny is unlike anything you have ever experienced and will ever experience.

everything that is going on camera could at any given point become a thing. >> the first lady is a hugger. she hugs all kinds of people. she hugged the queen. people clutched their pearls. >> the big deal is the queen is a most sacred person, perhaps not known in republics. >> the queen seemed fine. i think she hugged her back. the queen made the first move. for all i know, this is a break of white house protocol. >> the next day while her husband huddles with other g-20 leaders, the cameras follow michelle and she meets with their spouses. >> she was not just going as a figure head and a spouse. she wanted to inact with real people. >> so michelle makes a solo visit to a girls' school a few miles across london but worlds away from buckingham palace. >> everyone had rumors going around, whispers on the play ground. >> i remember seeing snipers on the roof.

and thinking, okay this is someone really important. >> the first lady of the united states of america. >> michelle writes, looking at those london girls, i almost felt myself falling backwards into my own past. she said, i see myself in them. and i'm not sure that we've heard first ladies speak like that before. she grew up surrounded by a lot of people who were not able to go as far as their talents would take them. they were placing all their hopes and their dreams and their children. >> you have to be stronger, smarter, you have to be twice as good with half the resources. and this is something that michelle's family, her community, her experiences really instill in her. >> there is a little vertigo in that being told you're going to bust through that glass ceiling or burst through that wall and take us forward. >> all of are you jewels. you are precious and you touch my heart.

and it is important for the world to know that there are wonderful girls like you all over the world. >> she started reading her remarks, and then she stopped reading her remarks and she just talked. >> we are counting on every single one of you to be the very best you can be. because the world is big. and it is full of challenges and we need strong, smart, confident young women to assistant up and take the reins. we know you can do it. we love you. thank you so much. >> that simple statement, i see myself in them. there's so much in that and not just saying that, but then figuring out how to act on that. >> my name is alex acosta. i'm 12 years old and i want to ask what is your job as first lady. >> that's a good question.

i don't know. every first lady is expected to have at least one crusade. barbara bush, literacy. nancy reagan, say no to drugs. >> what can do i that is useful with this role? >> michelle wants to focus on young people but that still leaves a lot of options. >> mrs. obama set some ground rules for us. one is that there is only one elected person in the building and that's the president. so whatever we do should be in service of his agenda. otherwise, why are we doing it? >> michelle's crusade was to empower children and their parents to eat better. >> the president and congress are going to begin to address health care reform. nearly a third of the children in this country are either overweight or obese. >> there will be less of a burden on health care if people did eat better. >> the scope of michelle's initiative is strategically masked by her simple opening

move which she describes as a harmless and innocent undertaking by a lady with a spade. >> hi! i'm here with someone very, very special. the first lady, mrs. michelle obama. >> hi, everyone. we're here digging up soil because we're about to plan a garden. >> get some shovels. let's go! >> i came to help do dinner but also help her develop a big health initiative. when you have one in three kids on track to have diabetes in their lifetime. it doesn't matter what we do with health care if we don't solve that side of the problem. and regardless with step one, when we were doing our first planting, you could hear all the cameras clicking constantly. she looked at me like, this better work. >> there they are. it's all pretty cute. we're all in favor of healthy eating. is this really the best way for the first lady to use her considerable influence? >> let's move!

let's move! >> now to first lady michelle obama. she's out promoting her let's move campaign and taking the motto to heart. >> every time we saw her jumping rope, hula hooping, all those things, they were very strategic ways that we were weaving in these values in our culture. >> instead of just talking about this problem and wringing our hands, it is time to do something about this. >> helping kids get healthier, that seems like a solvable problem. >> the united states was entering a very partisan, very polarized environment. and even something as innocuous as eating better became politicized. >> many of michelle's actions have been symbolic. when she openly supports a legislative agenda, the gloves come off and the attacks ramp up. >> 31 million american children participate in the federal school meals program and many of these kids consume as many as half their calories daily at

school. >> she has the audacity to say, maybe kids should eat good food. now, this strikes me as a noncontroversial thing for a mom to say. >> we'll start by updating the law that sets nutrition standards for what our kids eat at school. >> and yet you would have thought she was ushering in stalinism through the lunch room. >> who should be making decisions, what you eat, school choice? should it be the government or the parents? it should be the parents. >> there are conservative republican who's are always looking for evidence that democrats want to tell them how to eat. -- live. >> it is the nanny state. >> some republican conservatives believe democrats would love the federal government to be involved in all aspects of your life. >> it is no longer father knows best or mother knows best. it is government knows best. >> despite the pushback, michelle stays on message.

>> what we're doing is creating a new normal where there just wasn't junk food in the schools. >> and 18 months after launching her garden, she end joys her first legislative victory. the healthy hunger free kids act passes through the white house with bipartisan support. in december 2010, the president signs it into law. >> my husband worked very hard to make sure that this bill was a priority and i am grateful to you. >> because i would have been sleeping on the couch. >> uh-huh. but i am thrilled to be here. we won't go into that. let's just say, got done. >> it's a big win but the food industry fights back, doubling spending on lobbyists to undermine the law's implementation. >> now one of the first lady's major health initial i have the -- >> they say pizza qualifies as a vegetable. >> there's a lot of money at

stake with unhealthy food. our top issue was to put into main stream culture. that's what we did. >> michelle knows how the handle the political fire that this draws but personal attacks are different. >> when people started to hit her, the family, it hit him. it hurt her. >> the more confident she grows in her role, the more intense the attacks become. >> it was part of a strategy that tapped into a kind of nativism we see to this day. when the world gets complicated, a lot goes through your mind. how long will this last? am i prepared for this? are we prepared for this? with fidelity wealth management, your dedicated adviser can give you straightforward advice and tailored recommendations,

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they do one of the most deven in normal times.s, our frontline health care workers. and when these heroes lack the resources they need, that risky job gets ten times harder. prop fifteen makes corporations pay their fair share.

to invest in our communities, in our clinics, in the essential workers who treat everyone- rich, poor, and in-between. whether it's this pandemic or the next health crisis, vote yes on prop fifteen. for all of us. in the beginning of the story, obama is the star. she's in the side car. but at a certain point in the presidency, something changed. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome michelle obama! >> the first lady in recent memory who so many are fascinated by. >> she is who she is. her passions, they are real. they come across as real. and it makes her a star in her own right. >> michelle embraces bomb culture in a way that no other first lady has ever double before.

>> she's not a creature of d.c. she didn't consume cable news. she consumed hgtv and ellen. >> she takes to tv and tv takes to her. >> two years into the first term, michelle steps into a brave new world. >> i just pressed tweet. do i press this? >> she is the first first lady in the age of social media. and that, too, has transformed the land scape. >> i did it. >> yay! >> i'm pretty certain there was some consternation about the use of social media by the east wing. it was not done. it was not in anybody's may play book. >> there are all kinds of people in the white house who are there to say no. don't do this. don't take a risk. never been done before. >> fairly run, people pay a lot of attention to what the first lady looks like, what the first lady is wearing. and of course, what the first lady says. and you can easily see how a phrase can be twisted around.

>> as a lawyer, i was one of the strong naysayers against the president or first lady ever having a twitter account. words matter. every presidential statement is heavily vetted. >> but we had a young staff who realize that had social media was where a lot of the people we were trying to reach were going. >> don't waste your time trying to connect with your kids via email. that antiquated method is as useless as morse code. if you want to get their attention, use symbols. little symbols. >> the first lady was in a sense the guinea pig. >> can you do a little dougie? oh, yeah. there we go. >> the west wing came to realize that there's an energy vortex in the east wing that is a little bit different than they'd seen in previous administrations. >> after seeing michelle's success, the west wing follows suit. >> there it goes. my tweet has been posted. that's what i'm talking about.

>> they realized how incredibly effective a medium social media was for getting the message across. >> that's going viral. it's constructive. it's transparent. michelle obama understood that. >> michelle now has a direct line to millions around the country eager to hear her message. but social media is a two-way street. >> careful what you wish for. >> social media allows people to say things in a public square that they wouldn't normally share at the lunch table. now i'm going to think it, say it and put it out for the whole world to read with the hash just sayin'. there's so many pure hate every time someone says anything. >> did you see that picture yesterday? dressing up in her moms clothes. >> the trolling that happened any time there was coverage of her was unlike anything any

nader had faced before. michelle faced racism. no other way to say it. >> she would get up and really, really early in the morning and she would work out. and she uses that as a way to find the strength to take on life's challenges. >> that's who he's married to. what does that tell you? >> did you even see that picture? what is that? >> you cannot go to a reputable website, the "washington post," "the new york times," look at the comments section and scroll down more than an minch and see n word, n word, n word and the word monkey. on any article about michelle obama. >> in that weird fake accent. >> we're in this moment where a good portion of the american public declares we're in a post racial america. >> only the hit wave after wave

after wave of viciousness. >> i'm focused on what is in front of me. >> she didn't blink. >> it is my responsibility to work with all americans. and i want to stay focused on the work rather than, you know -- >> other things. >> other things. >> she tried to ignore most of it but you can't ignore all of it. >> i feel strongly about the fact that barack obama should provide the public with a birth certificate. and he should do it soon. look. his birth certificate. the birther movement was an excellent exam of where something was completely made up and then used to try to incite hate. >> we're going to send mr. obama home to kenya or wherever it is. >> he's not even a citizen of the united states. >> one in four believe president

obama definitely or probably was not born in the united states. >> it was ludicrous. but at the same time, it was in keeping with something that was growing in the country. >> he was more than just finding a reason to disqualify barack obama. it was about finding a reason to disqualify more than 10% of the american population. >> in her memoir, michelle describes these attacks as crazy, mean-spirited, but also, dangerous. >> i have to say that every single day, it was in the back of my mind that it just takes one crazy person. >> she adds, what if someone with an unstable mind got a gun and drove to washington? what if that person went hook -- look ing for our girls? >> this was something that michelle lived with in a really intense way. >> donald trump, michelle continues, with his loud and reckless innuendos, was putting my family's safety at risk. and for this, i could never forgive him.

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one night in the first term, michelle has a dream. a man leads her family to the south lawn to see some animals he has gathered for them it admire. michelle is apprehensive. michelle lives day and night knowing her family is a target for violence. >> we were coming back from a trip to hawaii. somebody had shot a rifle from constitution avenue into one of the windows in what is known as the yellow oval. >> seven bullets hit the white house. one smashing a window by the

living room. she's inside. >> the shooter proclaimed president obama had to be stopped. >> her thought was they could have been on the balcony. children played all over. she was assured it was safe. it wasn't the only incident. she put her head down and trusted the men and women of the secret service to protect her children. she was not going to let undisciplined people tell her how to lead her life. ever. >> she was the first lady of the united states. to all people in the united states. whether they liked her or not. >> i have the privilege of introducing the star of the show. michelle obama. >> she writes -- i understood that it was better for all of us. not to acknowledge the hate or

dwell on the risk. she threw open the doors at the white house as a place where americans were allowed to see themselves. >> tonight's event is another way it open up the white house and once again make it the people's house. >> the idea of the peoples house is not new. andrew jackson talked about the white house as the peoples house. after 9/11 it became a fortress. >> i have fun. be loose. >> michelle obama calling it the people's house was one element of a larger effort to move us forward. >> she said we want to make sure people who have perhaps previously never been to the white house have an opportunity to do so. in a meaningful way. >> get comfortable here. get comfortable with greatness. >> wanted to bring in diverse voices and bodies and genders. come on in. >> if you feel like this day was special. yoir all special. >> kids who have gotten in

trouble or college drop outs. >> today i want you to know you belong here in the white house. >> that's a game changer. they can see themselves there in the future. >> remember this moment. and remember the first lady of the united states told you that you can do anything you want to. >> the 2012 election is only a year away. the president approval rating is worryingly low. the first ladies popularity is soaring. >> people responded to her of the she was more popular than the president himself. >> i get to speak first. while he stands and watches. i love this. >> look at me adoreingly. >> one of the useful roles she played in the white house was to keep him grounded. she was part of the very contemporary major. not a marriage that served one

man's ego. the way so many ore white house marriages have. >> heading towards the election, americans are worried about the economy and unemployment and frustrated di gridlock in white house. >> elections are the for the president's to lose. that was not how people looked at his chances. in 20 12. >> her popularity is now essential to his reelection campaign. >> he viewed her as a friend who had his interest at heart and deep insight. >> michelle was the president's lifeline. to humanity. >> so many people had a hand in our success. from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean. >> she had an common sense

quality that helped ground these kind of lofty discussions. >> being president doesn't change who you are. it reveals who you are. >> that was enormously valued. >> let me tell you today i love my husband even more than four years ago. more than 23 years ago when we met. >> barack obama comes from behind in the polls to secure a victory. and a second term as president. >> we often said that the first election was aspirational. the second was affirmational. >> watching the thousands of performers on the inauguration day. she doesn't know that one of them a high school major from chicago will drastically impact what she fighting for in her

second term. >> returning to her hometown to attend the funeral of 15 year-old. a bystander shot dead in the chicago park a week after she performed at the president's inauguration. >> she became the 42nd person killed this month in the president's hometown. >> i ran the public school for seven and a half years. on average we had a child killed every two weeks due to gun violence. she reminded me of michelle. >> no mother, no father. should ever have to experience this. >> she was a straight a student. and she was a casualty of a stray bullet walking home from school. and mrs. obama knows there by the grace of god that could have been her at any hoemt at any time. at any moment. as a little girl on the south side of chicago. it affected her deeply. >> we thank you for the first lady who come to comfort. >> the shooting rarely sparks

national out rage. a mass shooting in an elementary school does. in april 2013, the senate votes on two gun control bills brought about by the massacre at sandy hook elementary. 90% of the public backed the measure. both bills are defeated. >> it begs the question. who are we leer to represent? all in all this was a shameful day for washington. >> with the president's legislative effort blocked, michelle is tackling gun violence the way she knows best. >> we read the story day after day. month after month. year after year. in the city and around the country. >> her husband was fighting his own battle about gun rights and trying to reduce the number of guns in american hands. she used a platform. >> i'm not talking about something that's happening in war zone. half way around the world. i'm talking about what's

happening in the city that we call home. >> to use her voice in a way that would lift the young people up. >> let me tell you it's hard to know what to say to a room full of teenagers who are about to bury their best friend. >> michelle understood the very personal level how horrific the violence was. she had to try and create some hope. and some inspiration for kids and communities that were living on a daily basis with a level of fear and trama that is unacceptable. it's not right. >> what it takes to build strong successful young people isn't genetic. or pedigree. or good luck. it's opportunity. ♪

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i love you guys! >> michelle has been spending time with young people traumatized by gun violence. and they provide the motivation for her next initiative. >> every scar that you have is a reminder not just that you got hurt, but that you survived. >> sense of opportunity when the opportunity is unseen. >> instead of letting feelings defeat you, let me motivate you.

>> she could have gone eight years and never talked about education. there's no better spokesman on the planet for this issue. it was a match made in heaven. >> i never thought i would be at the white house trying to get approved a script for the first lady to do a rap video. with someone from saturday night live. people were a little worried. are we going to make her look foolish? will people say that's not what a first lady should be doing. >> south side chicago -- >> we get the edit back. people in the office were like, i don't know. is this going to be okay? >> i knew something was going right when it was trending in italian. and had 23 million views in 24 hours. >> her campaign is aimed at kids who think college is out of

reach. >> tell us where you're going next with the hash tag reach higher. >> the administration offers grants, loans and tax credits. >> education is the economic issue of our time. >> michelle's approach is more personal. >> i want you all to succeed and i want you to understand how do people like me go from being kids like you to standing here as first lady of the united states. >> mrs. obama feels that sense of luck and that sense of privilege. >> if i can do it, you can do it. >> that's why she spent her life and career trying to make sure everyone has the same opportunities she's had. >> she was visceral and emotional and stems from her life experience. >> i set my sights high. i decided i was going to princeton. >> she was that public school kid who had a college counsellor who said your not good enough to get in. >> they told me i was never going to get into a school like

princeton. i still hear that doubt in my head. so if there's anybody telling you that you're not college material, i want you to push them off. prove them wrong. >> this was not just some issue that was important to her. this was her life story. this defined her. this was who she was. >> i remember it like it was yesterday. feeling like what am i doing here? >> she recalls arriving at princeton from the south side. and feeling quote like a poppy seed in a bowl of rice. i have never stood out in a crowd or classroom. because of the color of my skin. >> princeton 1981 was very white. it was also until recently entirely male. >> princeton was a wonderful but not always welcoming environment of the she was viewed probably there because of affirmative action and suspicious eyes. >> she wrote a senior thesis and

said princeton made her aware of her blackness than anything else in her life. at times she felt other students saw her as black person first and student seconds. >> her thesis was very obvious about the ways that racial exclusion shapes educational experience. >> during the 2008 campaign, it was used to fuel a narrative that she is racist. that she's antiwhite. she's essentially angry. >> it was gibberish. >> boring and resentful and sinister. >> qualities that i think in a white potential first lady would have been celebrated. a deep intellectual curiosity. ivy league education. all the qualities were degraded. >> her response is mirrored in the message shared with the students. work harder and reach higher. some young african-americans are

being attacked by more than words. >> we begin to the with the trayvon martin case. >> michael brown. >> a cop -- his last words. i can't breathe. >> justice! >> the road ahead will not be easy. it never is. especially for folks like you and me. >> michelle doubles down on her message of hope. >> after the 2012 election, the kind of caution that defined the obamas during the first administration some of that goes by the wayside. >> no matter how far you lrise n life. work to be a good person and parent and citizen. for some folks it will never be enough. >> we see a michelle obama that is less coy. about race. >> it can make you feel like

your life somehow doesn't matter. and the feelings are playing out in communities like baltimore and ferguson. and so many others akrsz the country. >> you can say it would have been a massive opportunity to really say something transformative. but at the same time, she still operating within the boundaries of the white house. >> black lives matter. >> she's quite clear about the role of poverty and sexism and racism. she also is not going to let anybody off the hook. she'll tell you it sucks it's bad. you are born for more than that. >> today i want to be very clear. those feelings are not an excuse to just throw up our hands and give up. not an excuse, they are not an excuse to lose hope. >> one month later. the spirit of yes, we can.

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♪ at 9:05 this evening we received a call of a shooting that occurred at the church. >> in the summer of 2015, a 21

year-old white man joins a bible study. at the church and starts shooting. >> it's unfathomable somebody in today's society walks into a church. when people are having prayer and take their lives. >> the shooter accused the all black congregation of taking over the country. nine people are killed. >> for too long we have been blind to the way past injustices continue to shape the present. perhaps this tragedy causes us to ask tough questions. >> what does it mean to be proud to be the first african-american in the white house and know it's linked to movements. linked to individuals who see that as an affront to thing that are rightfully theirs. their progress riled up some of the worst forces in our world. it really does create i think

this deep exten shl sense of our presence may lead to the absence of others. >> the way to defeat hope is make people angry and resentful. we're going to make you angry that these people are in the white house. and we're going to make you certain that every problem you face, every misfortune, is the fault of people like that. >> hatred is just fear in a different octave. at the end of the term she was using her voice to speak to the hatred and the fear that people had. >> here in america, we don't give in to our fears. we don't build up walls to keep people out. because we know the greatness has always depended on contributions from people who were born elsewhere. but sought out this country and made it their home.

>> it was an expectation that they in particular would lead the conversation about race. >> that is the american story. >> people who felt they didn't do it enough. >> the story that i witness every day. when i wake up in a house that was built by slaves and i watch my daughters, two beautiful black young women. waving good-bye to their father the president of the united states. >> they talk about it all the time. and subtle ways and often in ways that went over people's heads. >> you are the living, breathing proof. that the american dream endures in our time. it's you. >> you might have heard someone jumped the white house fence last week. but, i have to give secret service credit. they found michelle and brought her back. she's safe at home.

>> only nine more months. settle down. >> the obamas time in the white house is coming to a close. >> last question make it a good one. >> michelle makes no secret of her relief. >> where will you work after you're first lady? >> i don't know. >> she was ready. her kids were growing up. in her opinion it was time to go. >> it's hard to believe that it has been eight years. >> in her final convention appearance she delivers a rebuke to candidate donald trump attacks on her family. >> sharing the mantra they use through the years in the white house. >> i told you about our daughters. how we urge them to ignore those who question their father's citizen ship. or faith. how we explain that when someone is cruel or acts like a bully, don't stoop to their level. our motto is when they go low,

we go high. >> for two terms for eight years, she had been criticized for tiny things. both of them bent over backwards to respect presidential norms. yet in the 2016 presidential campaign, they see somebody who doesn't care about these norm. >> one month before the election, an old video surfaces. >> when you're a star, they let you do anything. >> she felt she had to say something. knowing that people looked to her for inspiration. >> i can't believe that i'm saying that a candidate for president of the united states has bragged about sexually assaulting women. >> she shook off her supreme caution that she had exercised

for eight years. >> too many are treating this as just another day's headline. >> she became a great first lady because she spoke for so many. >> as if our outrage is overblown or unwarranted, as if this is normal, just politics as usual. >> and i think she reached eleanor roosevelt territory. >> but new hampshire, be clear, this is not normal. this is not politics as usual. no. in the basement. why can't we just get in the running car? are you crazy? let's hide behind the chainsaws. smart. yeah. ok. if you're in a horror movie, you make poor decisions. it's what you do. this was a good idea. shhhh. i'm being quiet. you're breathing on me! if you want to save fifteen percent

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so false, a judge ordered them bistruck from the voter guide. prop 15 are using scare tactics but the following facts are not in dispute. prop 15 closes big corporate tax loopholes, protects homeowners, and cuts small business taxes.

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michelle spends election night watching a movie. as the messages start coming in, she heads off to bed. >> cnn projects donald trump wins the presidency. >> the day after election day was extremely difficult, and i think none of us wanted to go to work. but we all picked ourselves up and we came into the office. and mrs. obama emailed the chief of staff and i at the time and said, i'd like to talk to the staff. >> the first lady brought us all together, and she said, i want to hear from you all. how do you feel? >> people were afraid that a lot of the work that we had poured our hearts and souls into would

be unwound. >> she assured us that what we did was remarkable and to go on and continue that. this house was just the beginning for some of us, but it's not the end. the trump's came to the white house the next day. >> it was the lebron james and the cleveland cavaliers were coming too, so we didn't have much time to think until it was done. >> we celebrated those last few months in the white house. we accomplished more than we could have ever imagined with the spotlight on us that no other administration had ever had. >> maybe you still can't believe we pulled this whole thing off. let me tell you, you're not the only ones. michelle -- [ cheers and applause ] -- you took on a role you didn't

ask for with grace and with grit and with style and with humor. [ cheers and applause ] you made the white house a place that belongs to everybody. and the new generation sets its sights higher because it has you as a role model. >> she was exhausted. we were all exhausted. i mean, the dogs are probably exhausted. it's like running a marathon for eight years and then all of a sudden it stops. >> on january 20th, 2017, michelle obama walked out of the white house for the last time. >> one of the things that struck me, knowing her as i do, was how

chilly michelle was toward the new president. and she sent a very strong message, i thought, through her body language. >> on inauguration day 2017, we see a michelle obama who has slicked back her hair and shows none of the usual care that we see in moments of political import. it's such a clear moment. it's such a clear moment that she is over it and done. >> michelle stays out of the limelight for a time and then bursts back onto the scene. more than any other first lady, michelle obama has become a symbol of hope and possibility for millions across the united states and beyond. >> she redefined the role of first lady on her own terms. >> her background is something she celebrates as much as her

accomplishments. and i think that is one of the reasons why she is such a unique first lady. >> each of us has a mission in this world. >> she gave lots of kids in the country permission to be themselves, walk a little taller, think a little bit bigger, dream a little bit higher. >> my story can be your story. >> i think that's her greatest legacy. zb >> are you listening to me? do you hear what i'm telling you? >> as great as michelle obama was in the white house, she's free now. and you have not heard or seen anything yet. >> i always knew from the first time i met her she was special. she always had this inner strength and tenacity and conviction and compassion. >> so don't be afraid. do you hear me, young people? don't be afraid. be determined. lead by example with hope, never fear. >> yes, she's grown mightily. but the core essence of michelle

robinson, who i met in 1991, is still there today. >> being your first lady has been the greatest honor of my life, and i hope i've made you proud. [ cheers and applause ] -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> announcer:this is cnn breaking news. and hello and welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm michael holmes, appreciate your company. we begin with breaking news of u.s. president donald trump's health, spending a third night now at the walter reed medical center. unlike other covid-19 patients who were kept in isolation, this president went on a joyride sunday evening. these images of mr. trump riding in an suv while infectious, raising doubts about how seriously he's