Michelle Obama lays into Trump and rallies DNC to 'Do Something!' for Kamala Harris

With a mixture of going low and going high, Michelle Obama delivered the speech of the night on the second night of the Democratic National Convention, jabbing at Donald Trump and delivering an affectionate tribute to the party's nominee, Kamala Harris .

"Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us,"she said. "His limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard working and highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black. I want to know who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs," Obama said referring to Trump's repeated statements that immigrants are taking "Black jobs."

Obama urged Democrats to protect and defend Harris from the expected attacks in the coming 11 weeks and to not let Republicans set the narrative. With President Joe Biden's late exit from the race, Harris and her campaign have a tight timeline to introduce her to the American people and sway the slim margin of undecided voters expected to be pivotal to the outcome of the race.

Obama, who said she struggled to attend the convention because she is still grieving the death of her mother, had the harshest words for the former president in a convention night that has been filled with not so subtle jabs. Trump was a predominant voice in the so-called birther conspiracy, which questioned whether Barack Obama was born in the United States.

"Look, it's his same old con, his same old con, doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people's lives better," she said. Obama said the tactic made Trump "small."

"Going small is the opposite of what we teach our kids," she said. "Going small is petty, it's unhealthy, and quite frankly, it's unpresidential."

Obama also spoke of Harris' middle class upbringing and the charge from her single mother not just to complain about problems, but to "do something."

More: 'Do something': Michelle Obama throws her support behind Kamala Harris at 2024 DNC: Watch

Harris "understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. If we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don't get a second, third or fourth chance. If things don't go our way, we don't have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead. No, we don't get to change the rules, so we always win if we see a mountain in front of us, we don't expect there to be an escalator waiting to date us to the top. We put our hands down. We get to work. In America, we do something," Obama said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michelle Obama lays into Trump and rallies DNC to 'Do Something!' for Kamala Harris