First Lady Michelle Obama Cautions That Now's Not the Time to 'Tear Each Other Down'
Michelle Obama calls for unity in the wake of the Orlando shooting.
— -- As her husband endures a barrage of insults from GOP presumptive nominee Donald Trump in the wake of the Orlando attack, first lady Michelle Obama said Tuesday the tragedy should be a moment for the country to unify.
"In tragic times like these, in this country, it’s time for us to come together, to love each other, to support each other and not tear each other down," Obama said. "So I hope that that is one of the many takeaways that we move forward with."
Obama made the remarks alongside Oprah Winfrey, who co-hosted the United State of Women Summit at the White House focused on empowering and promoting women's rights and education.
Earlier in the day, President Obama took his most impassioned tone against Trump to date for the real estate mogul’s rhetoric in the wake of Sunday’s Orlando nightclub shooting. Trump doubled down later in the evening, saying Obama "was more angry at me than he was at the shooter."
As for Michelle Obama, she spoke with Winfrey and several girls about her own experience dealing with negative comments thrown her way during her eight years as the first lady.
"It takes taking the time to know who you are to be able to deal with the onslaught of negative messages that you’re bound to get," Obama said. "So when you hear the smack-talking from outside the world, it’s easy to sort of brush that off. Because I know who I am."
Obama also offered advice to women on how to handle social media scrutiny, saying it helps to just "set those phones down."
"I couldn’t keep reading stuff about my husband and what people thought and -- because I knew who he was," Obama said. "I knew what was going on in our home, in our lives. So I didn’t need to read about it from somebody else."
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