Less than two weeks before they officially vacate the White House for incoming US President Donald Trump, Michelle Obama appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on January 11 and admitted that she and their eldest daughter Malia teared up during the surprisingly emotional farewell speech of her husband, outgoing US President Barack Obama.
President Obama addressed his wife Michelle during a farewell speech delivered at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago on January 10 that elicited a standing ovation.
During her interview with Jimmy Fallon, the 52-year-old First Lady of the US said that she and Malia cried over her husband’s speech because it was surprisingly emotional. She said that they are ready and are good to go out of the White House.
She said that it has been eight years for them and eight years is enough so they are packing up. Michelle adds that everything has been surprisingly emotional for all of them in ways that they did not actually expect, reports Us Weekly.
Michelle also narrated that during the speech of her husband, Malia looked over her and she said to her daughter that she is going to cry through the whole speech and her daughter said it’s okay.
Jimmy Fallon also admitted in jest that he also got emotional with President Barack Obama’s farewell speech and admitted that he lost it at home and started crying over his wife’s shoulder.
While Michelle and Malia were at the show, the youngest Obama daughter, Sasha, was not around. Michelle explained that her daughter had a final and cannot be around. She even jested that Obama girls are like that, they have to take the test first and just say goodbye later.
Her own farewell speech
Michelle Obama also rendered her tearful final remarks on January 6 at an event honoring the 2017 School Counselor of the Year.
She admitted to Jimmy Fallon that she just talked about kids during her speech and started tearing up.
Michelle said that the kids are her heart, adding that when she thinks about the fact that some of them are afraid of what’s to come, she really does not want them to be afraid.
She wants them to embrace the future and know that the world is getting better. While it is true that there will be bumps in the road, and ups and downs, but she wants kids to move forward with strength and hope, regardless where they come from.
Obama’s farewell speech
In his speech on January 10, Barack Obama said that he and his wife have been so touched by all the well-wishes that they have received over the past few weeks, saying that the American people made him a better president and a better man, details the Business Insider.
He recalled that he first came to Chicago when he was in his early 20s, still trying to figure out who he was; still searching for a purpose to his life.
It was in neighborhoods not far from there where he began working with church groups in the shadows of closed steel mills. It was on those streets where he witnessed the power of faith and the quiet dignity of the working people in the face of struggle and loss.
Obama said that that is where he learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved, get engaged, and come together to demand it.
He added that after eight years as the US president, he still believes that. And it’s not just his belief. It’s the beating heart of the American idea, the bold experiment in self-government.
Obama said that he still maintains the conviction that people are all created equal, endowed by God with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The outgoing US President admitted that the progress of the country has been uneven. The work of democracy has always been hard, contentious and sometimes bloody, he noted.
For every two steps forward, it often feels that they take one step back. But the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of the country’s founding creed to embrace all, and not just some, Obama pointed out.
Obama said that in 10 days, the world will witness a hallmark of American democracy: the peaceful transfer of power from one freely-elected president to the next.