Michelle Obama hits out at 'conman' during Pennsylvania rally
Former first lady Michelle Obama spoke at a rally in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Saturday night evoking the "yes we can" ethos and slogan of former President Barack Obama.
Her theme was that of a divided America, and her call to voters one of staying the course and defeating the "conman" who she said wishes to "tear" the country apart -- though Obama did not mention former President Donald Trump by name.
"It always felt as though, even with our differences, something true, something fundamental, was stitching us together, the values that have guided and nourished us for generations," Obama said, as quoted by ABC News' Philadelphia station WPVI.
"Pennsylvania -- this is who we are, this is us," she added. "This is our creed as Americans, that if we keep our feet on the ground and our eyes on the horizon, we will leave this country a little better than we found it."
"The tactics to tear it apart are not new," Obama continued. "Sadly, they have become more insidious, more cunning, led by a more skilled conman who is more brazen and bombastic. But this, too, is part of the great experiment that we call democracy. Can people who strongly disagree still find common ground?"
She continued: "We have had our fair share of dark moments, some lasting for decades, stretches of time that have been hard and scary, but for anyone who's ever endeavored to build or do something hard or scary, erecting a skyscraper, scaling a mountain, even a child building a sand castle, you learn very quickly that it's a lot easier to destroy than to build up."
Obama hit out at Trump's campaign without naming him, criticizing "the folks telling us that things may not be as they appear, that we should be suspicious of our neighbors, that military service and sacrifice is for suckers, that there's an enemy from within."
"Every time I hear someone say that the hope and pride that I feel for the country I love is misplaced, that down is up and right is wrong -- my god, it's bewildering. It is dangerous. It is shameful."
-ABC News' Gabriella Abdul-Hakim