Michelle Obama rejects strident rhetoric of Eric Holder and Hillary Clinton about Republicans

Former First Lady Michelle Obama on Thursday rejected comments made by two of her husband's former cabinet members in recent days.

What are the details?

Appearing on the Today show, Obama was asked by host Savannah Guthrie about statements made this week by Eric Holder and Hillary Clinton.

On Sunday, Holder was caught on video telling an audience of Democrats, "Michelle [Obama] says, you know, when they go low we go high," referring to the famous line from her speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2016. "No, no," Holder said, "When they go low, we kick them!"

Mrs. Clinton then told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday, "You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about," saying Republicans only seem to respect "strength."

Responding to Clinton and Holder's rhetoric, Obama told Guthrie that she still "absolutely" stands by her words about keeping discourse civil in politics.

"Fear is not...a proper motivator," the former first lady said. "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?"

"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," she added.



 Anything else?

Holder defended himself on Thursday over the backlash from his comments, saying on Twitter, "Ok, stop the fake outrage. I'm obviously not advocating violence. (In fact, when I was AG violent crime in the US was historically low.) I'm saying Republicans are undermining our democracy and Democrats need to be tough, proud and stand up for the value we believe in - the end."

Ok, stop the fake outrage. I’m obviously not advocating violence. (In fact, when I was AG violent crime in the US was historically low.) I’m saying Republicans are undermining our democracy and Democrats need to be tough, proud and stand up for the values we believe in - the end.

— Eric Holder (@EricHolder) October 11, 2018