During an exclusive live interview with Michelle Obama on Thursday’s Today show, co-host Savannah Guthrie touted the former First Lady’s “famous” motto of “When they go low, we go high.” However, the NBC anchor then highlighted other prominent Democrats recently calling for the party to abandon any pretense of civility when attacking Republicans and wondered if Obama’s saying “still stands.”
“You know, and these are tough times politically, that we are living in,” Guthrie lamented. After reminding viewers of the then-First Lady warning supporters at the 2016 Democratic National Convention not to “go low” like Republicans, the morning show host noted:
And just this week the former Attorney General Eric Holder, who worked for your husband, said the Democrats should have a new motto, “When they go low, we should kick them.” Hillary Clinton said, “How can we be civil when our opponents are trying to, you know, take away everything we stand for?”
Guthrie followed: “And I just thought, what would you say now about your motto? Do you think it still stands, ‘When they go low, we go high’?”
To her credit, Obama seemed to scold her fellow liberals:
Absolutely. Fear is not a – it’s not a proper motivator. Hope wins out. And if you think about how you want your kids to be raised, how you want them to think about life and their opportunities, do you want them afraid of their neighbors? Do you want them angry? Do you want them vengeful?
The calls from Holder and Clinton for left-wing activists to continue to threaten and intimidate Republicans had not been covered by any of the broadcasts networks until Guthrie’s question, which wasn’t even critical of the remarks.
Here is a transcript of the October 11 exchange:
8:06 AM ET
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SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: You know, and these are tough times politically, that we are living in. You were famous at the Democratic convention for saying, “When they go low, we go high.” And just this week the former Attorney General Eric Holder, who worked for your husband, said the Democrats should have a new motto, “When they go low, we should kick them.” Hillary Clinton said, “How can we be civil when our opponents are trying to, you know, take away everything we stand for?” And I just thought, what would you say now about your motto? Do you think it still stands, “When they go low, we go high”?
MICHELLE OBAMA: Absolutely. Fear is not a – it’s not a proper motivator. Hope wins out. And if you think about how you want your kids to be raised, how you want them to think about life and their opportunities, do you want them afraid of their neighbors? Do you want them angry? Do you want them vengeful? You know, if we think of the values that we try to promote to our children, Savannah, you’re a mother right now, and at this point you have to think about what are the things you’re telling your girls. Which motto do you want them to live by? And I have to think about that as a mother, as someone who’s a role model to young girls. We want them to grow up with promise and hope, and we can’t model something different if we want them to be better than that.
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