--- title: Democratic Convention: Michelle Obama Was the Real Star description: First Lady Michelle Obama captivated the crowd on night one of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. canonical: https://time.com/4423176/democratic-convention-michelle-obama-star/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-26T03:04:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:43:53.589Z article:section: Politics og:title: Michelle Obama Was the Star of the Convention's First Day og:description: She captivated the crowd. og:url: https://time.com/4423176/democratic-convention-michelle-obama-star/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc96d74354e28af3/69889f370a4a2285c19ca9d7/michelle-obama-hillary-clinton-dnc-democratic-national-convention-26.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2028 og:image:height: 1141 og:image:alt: Democratic National Convention: Day One og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Michelle Obama Was the Star of the Convention's First Day twitter:description: She captivated the crowd. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc96d74354e28af3/69889f370a4a2285c19ca9d7/michelle-obama-hillary-clinton-dnc-democratic-national-convention-26.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Michelle Obama Was the Real Star of the Democratic Convention's First Night > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=cc058675-ad6f-476a-8897-8ffde6c3af25&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Maya Rhodan / Philadelphia](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan / Philadelphia Jul 26, 2016 3:04 AM UTC  First Lady Michelle Obama acknowledges the crowd after delivering remarks on the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 25, 2016 in Philadelphia. First Lady Michelle Obama acknowledges the crowd after delivering remarks on the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 25, 2016 in Philadelphia. Drew Angerer—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan / Philadelphia](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan / Philadelphia Jul 26, 2016 3:04 AM UTC First Lady Michelle Obama captivated the crowd on night one of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, delivering a deeply personal speech in support of her party’s nominee, Hillary Clinton. The first night of the Democratic National Convention was fraught with testiness—a roar of boos swelled in the arena of Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center shortly after the opening gavel was struck. Just outside, gatherers chanted well into the night protesting in favor of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. But for 15 minutes, the rifts that had been exposed throughout the day appeared to have mended. Everyone in the crowd, despite their differences, was enthralled by the First Lady. At one point, Obama noted that it had been eight years since she took the stage at the Democratic convention to persuade the crowd that her husband was the right candidate to lead the American people. Words from that speech [were cribbed by Melania Trump](http://time.com/4412175/republican-convention-melania-trump-michelle-obama/) in her speech at the Republican convention this year. **Read More:** [_Transcript of Michelle Obama’s Emotional Speech at the Democratic Convention_](http://time.com/4421538/democratic-convention-michelle-obama-transcript/) On Monday, Obama said that in the time since the Obamas moved into the White House, her biggest concern was and continues to be the welfare of her daughters and all of America’s children. How well they managed the experience, she said, would affect them forever. “With every word we utter, with every action we take, we know our kids are watching us,” she said, noting that while the Obamas have lived in the White House she’s had to explain why her husband’s faith and citizenship were being questioned and other “hateful language” from public officials. It went without mentioning that many of those comments came from the Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump, whose name went unmentioned in her speech. “I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves,” she said. “And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent, black young women playing with their dogs on the White House lawn.” ### See the Bernie Sanders Supporters Who Booed at the Democratic Convention  Ardent Bernie Sanders supporters hijacked the opening moments of the Democratic National Convention, repeatedly booing mentions of Hillary Clinton, chanting Sanders’ name and turning what was supposed to be a celebration into an ugly family feud. Supporter for former Democratic Presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., John Stanley from DeForest Wis., reacts during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Monday, July 25, 2016. John Locher—AP  A supporter of former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders approaches the podium with a Sanders campaign sign during the report of the Rules Committee at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 25, 2016. Mark Kauzlarich—Reuters  Supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders chant his name as they protest on the floor during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, on July 25, 2016. Mark Kauzlarich—Reuters  Delegates and attendees in support of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) hold up signs on the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 25, 2016 in Philadelphia. Alex Wong—Getty Images  A supporter of former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., protests during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 25, 2016. Paul Sancya—AP  A supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) chants on the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center. Drew Angerer—Getty Images  A supporter of Bernie Sanders wears a sequined jacket during the 2016 Democratic National Convention at Wells Fargo Arena. Jack Gruber—USA Today/Sipa In fact, as much as the speech was soundly about Clinton’s work as a children’s rights advocate, Senator, and Secretary of State, it was a fierce rebuke of everything Democrats say Donald Trump represents. It included subtle jabs at “thin-skinned” leaders with tendencies to “lash out.” “Don’t let anyone ever tell you that America isn’t great,” Obama said, citing Trump’s campaign slogan. “That somehow we need to make it great again because this right now is the greatest country on earth.” The speech was short, but Michelle Obama’s message was clear. The leader she believes will take the country down the right path is undoubtedly Hillary Clinton. And the boost in enthusiasm the convention saw when Obama entered and exited Monday’s stage could prove beneficial on the campaign trail. “This November when we go to the polls, that is what we are deciding … who will have the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of their lives,” Obama said. “There is only one person who I trust with that responsibility.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4423176/democratic-convention-michelle-obama-star/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4423176/democratic-convention-michelle-obama-star/"},"headline":"Michelle Obama Was the Real Star of the Democratic Convention's First Night","datePublished":"2016-07-26T03:04:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:43:53.589Z","description":"First Lady Michelle Obama captivated the crowd on night one of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.","url":"https://time.com/4423176/democratic-convention-michelle-obama-star/","keywords":["Democratic National Convention","2016 Election","Barack Obama","White House","Michelle Obama"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc96d74354e28af3/69889f370a4a2285c19ca9d7/michelle-obama-hillary-clinton-dnc-democratic-national-convention-26.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan / Philadelphia"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc96d74354e28af3/69889f370a4a2285c19ca9d7/michelle-obama-hillary-clinton-dnc-democratic-national-convention-26.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Democratic National Convention: Day One","caption":"First Lady Michelle Obama acknowledges the crowd after delivering remarks on the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 25, 2016 in Philadelphia.","creditText":"Drew Angerer—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/democratic-national-convention/","name":"Democratic National Convention"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4423176/democratic-convention-michelle-obama-star/","name":"Michelle Obama Was the Real Star of the Democratic Convention's First Night"}}]}] ```