A trendy NYC restaurant didn’t find out the Obamas were coming for dinner until 5 minutes before they arrived
Barack and Michelle Obama… when they go out to dinner, they make a reservation under a pseudonym and let the restaurant know they’re coming only a few minutes in advance.
When the Obamas showed up for dinner at Cosme last Monday, it was a surprise to everyone, including the restaurant’s maître d’, its waiters, and even its chef.
That’s because when Barack and Michelle Obama go out to dinner, they make a reservation under a pseudonym and let the restaurant know they’re coming only a few minutes in advance.
I know this because I dined at Cosme, a trendy Mexican restaurant in New York City’s Flatiron District, the same night the Obamas were there. And on my way in, I got the chance to talk to the president’s security detail as they searched my purse and frisked me.
The Secret Service officer I spoke to told me that this was protocol, and most restaurants don’t know they’re coming. Cosme declined to comment for this story.
During the meal at Cosme, Michelle Obama and the president were seated behind closed doors in a private dining room. We couldn’t see them eating, but we did get a glimpse of them leaving at the end of the meal.
The Obamas entered through the restaurant’s front entrance. Their armored limousine, nicknamed “The Beast,” was parked outside the entire time, and the block was closed to cars. Secret Service agents swarmed the restaurant.
The friendship of George W. Bush and Michelle Obama
(CNN)Saturday’s dedication of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture brought together the president who signed into law the funding for the museum and the president who was in office during its completion.
But the gathering of the 43rd and 44th first couples also saw the reuniting of two unlikely friends.
Over the past eight years, former President George W. Bush and First Lady Michelle Obama have been seen becoming increasingly chummy. At public events, the two can often be found sitting next to each other, sharing a laugh or lending a hand to hold.
Saturday’s ceremony was no exception. During the event, Obama reached over and grabbed Bush into a hug as their spouses clapped and looked on.
This wasn’t the first time the two have come together.
They joined hands during a singing of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” at an interfaith memorial service for the victims of the Dallas police shooting on July 12.
Their friendship seems to have grown deeper after they both attended a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the historic civil rights march in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 2015.
Bush and Obama sat next to each other and waved to onlookers in the crowd while also sharing smiles.
The bond between the two dates back to the inauguration of President Barack Obama in January 2009. Bush took time to talk with Mrs. Obama and meet her two daughters, Sasha and Malia, during the swearing-in ceremony.
How Michelle Obama took on Trump: ‘Don’t Let Anyone Ever Tell You That This Country Isn’t Great’
“We don’t stoop to their level. Our motto is: ‘When they go low, we go high,’ ” she said.
First Lady Michelle Obama delivered an unusually personal speech at the Democratic National Convention on Monday, expressing her enthusiastic support for former First Lady Hillary Clinton while deriding Republican candidate Donald Trump without ever uttering his name.
“Don’t let anyone ever tell you that this country isn’t great,” she said in a pointed reference to Trump’s campaign slogan. “This, right now, is the greatest country on earth.”
Obama also got personal during the speech, speaking candidly about daughters Malia and Sasha, and how she and the president have coached them to remain above the fray while facing criticism.
“We don’t stoop to their level. Our motto is: ‘When they go low, we go high,’ ” she said.
The First Lady also recalled the first morning she sent Sasha and Malia off to school with armed Secret Service agents. Malia was just 10 – and Sasha only 7.
“I saw their little faces pressed up against the window and all I could think was, ‘What have we done?'” Obama said, adding that it struck her in that moment that “How well we managed this experience could truly make or break them.”
Pointedly, but without ever speaking the name Donald Trump, Obama went on to frame the lessons she and the president imparted to their girls around the rhetoric of Trump.
“We urge them to ignore those who question their father’s citizenship or faith,” she said. “We insist that the hateful language they hear from public figures on TV does not represent the true spirit of this country.”
Just after the speech, the president praised his wife on Twitter.
“Incredible speech by an incredible woman. Couldn’t be more proud & our country has been blessed to have her as FLOTUS. I love you, Michelle.”
The First Lady also spoke about the attributes that qualify Clinton for the presidency.
“What I admire most about Hillary is she never buckled over pressure. Hillary Clinton has never quit on anything in her life. When I think of the kind of president I want for my girls and all our children, that’s what I want – the proven strength to persevere,” she said.
“She knows the issues are not black and white, cannot be boiled down the 140 characters,” she added.
A DNC speaker twice before – both times in support of husband Barack Obama – the First Lady made a case for why Americans should elect its first female president after taking the stage following a video about herself produced by J.J. Abrams .
Obama’s speech also comes just one week after Melania Trump’s alleged plagiarism scandal. The Slovenian-born former model spoke at the Republican National Convention last week in support of husband Donald Trump and raised concerns of plagiarism once similarities were spotted between her speech and the one Obama delivered at the 2008 DNC.
The Trump campaign denied the allegations and refused the resignation of the speechwriter, Meredith McIver, who admitted part of the speech was taken from the First Lady.
Obama’s speech also comes in the midst of fallout from an email leak that resulted in the resignation of Convention chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, after emails indicated she actively tried to undermine the Bernie Sanders campaign during the primary process.
How Melania Trump plagiarized Michelle Obama in her convention speech
Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, was receiving plaudits for her speech at the Republican convention Monday night, for its positive message devoid of the political attacks that characterized the vast majority of the rest of the primetime speeches. But then, on Twitter, @JarrettHill first noticed a striking similarity between Trump’s speech and speeches that First Lady Michelle Obama delivered on her husband’s behalf in 2008 and 2012.
“My parents impressed on me the value of that you work hard for what you want in life,” Trump said at the Republican convention Monday night. “That your word is your bond and you do what you say and keep your promise. That you treat people with respect. Show the values and morals in in the daily life. That is the lesson that we continue to pass on to our son.
“We need to pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow. [Cheering] Because we want our children in these nations to know that the only limit to your achievement is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.”
Vox pointed out that this seems lifted from Michelle Obama’s Democratic convention speech in 2008:
“And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you’re going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them, and even if you don’t agree with them.
“And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children — and all children in this nation — to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.”
Trump claimed to have penned the speech on her own, mostly.
“I wrote it — with a little help as possible,” Melania Trump told NBC News’ Matt Lauer in an interview Monday.
After the first night of the convention former top Obama adviser David Axelrod was calling Trump’s speech “flat out plagiarism.”
“Whoever did that was grossly irresponssible,” he said on CNN, wondering, “How could anyone be so fundamentally stupid?”
Trump campaign Senior Communications Advisor Jason Miller issued a statement saying, “In writing her beautiful speech, Melania’s team of writers took notes on her life’s inspirations, and in some instances included fragments that reflected her own thinking. Melania’s immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it such a success.”
Michelle Obama, daughters in Africa to push girls’ education
KAKATA, Liberia (AP) — First lady Michelle Obama visited a leadership camp for girls in Liberia to launch her latest Africa visit Monday, urging the teens in one of the world’s poorest countries to keep fighting to stay in school.
With her own teenage daughters joining her, Obama told the girls she was “just so thrilled to be here with you.”
“I’m here to shine a big bright light on you,” she said.
Education for girls is the central theme of the first lady’s trip, which also includes stops in Morocco and Spain. She was welcomed on her arrival in Liberia with a red carpet and traditional dancers.
U.S. First lady Michelle Obama, left, listens to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
In connection with the first lady’s visit, USAID announced up to $27 million in funding in Liberia programming for Let Girls Learn, an initiative launched by Mrs. Obama and President Barack Obama last year.
The first lady is traveling with her mother and daughters Malia, 17, who recently graduated from high school, and Sasha, 15.
Liberia was battered by civil wars between 1989 and 2003. Ebola swept the country in 2014, killing more than 4,800. Schools were closed for months.
The country was founded as part of an effort to resettle freed American slaves and has deep ties to the United States. The country’s oldest vocational high school, located in Kakata, is named for African-American civil rights activist Booker T. Washington.
U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, centre, is welcomed by Peace Corp teachers and students at a project 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the capital city Monrovia in Kakata, Liberia, Monday, June 27, 2016. Michelle Obama is visiting a leadership camp for girls in Liberia, Monday, the first stop in her latest Africa visit, in a country still recovering from the recent Ebola epidemic that left thousands dead. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)
The school suspended mid-term exams scheduled to start Monday “to allow the students to give Mrs. Obama a rousing welcome to appreciate what the United States has done for us,” principal Harris Tarnue said.
“She will be a real inspiration to the young girls around here,” he said.
Obama’s previous Africa visits as first lady included Ghana, South Africa, Botswana, Senegal and Tanzania.
The Obamas’ U.K. visit in photos
President Barack Obama and first lady #Michelle Obama spent Friday in London, United Kingdom, meeting with Queen Elizabeth and dining at #Kensington Palace with the royal family. It’s Day 2 of a four-day stay in the U.K., where Obama has made his case for the U.S. and U.K. to maintain their “special relationship,” and against British withdrawal from the European Union.
Princess #Kate Middleton talks with first lady Michelle Obama in Kensington Palace, London, prior to a private dinner hosted by Prince William and Kate on April 22.President Barack Obama steps off Air Force One at Stansted Airport in London on April 21.#President Obama shakes hands with British Prime Minister #David Cameron at the conclusion of a joint news conference at 10 #Downing Street in London on April 22.President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are greeted by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle on April 22.Members of the royal family welcome the Obamas to Kensington Palace on April 22.Britain’s Prince William talks with President Obama as Kate Middleton and Michelle Obama talk while Prince Harry looks on at Kensington Palace in London on April 22.President Barack Obama, Prince William and First Lady Michelle Obama play with Prince George at Kensington Palace in London on April 22.Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron and President Barack Obama walk from Downing Street to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on April 22.Royal Guardsman look out from the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle on April 22.The president’s convoy sits outside Windsor Castle on April 22.
Michelle Obama Is Continuing Her Winning Style Streak in Argentina
Michelle Obama stepped off the plane in a modest but bold printed dress by Narciso Rodriguez.
From stepping off a plane to sitting front row at a ball game, Michelle Obama never fails to impress us with her outfit. The first lady isn’t afraid to take fashion risks, rocking bright colors and loud prints at major events, so it’s no surprise that after a stylish trip to Cuba, she’s continuing her fashion streak as she and her family touch down in Argentina.
Just from her latest look alone, Michelle offers a few great styling tips. For starters, you can find a balance between polished and bold: just opt for a dark, solid-colored dress with a simple yet interesting graphic, much like her Narciso Rodriguez number. Second, silver heels pair well with everything, completing colorful ensembles by acting as a neutral.
Read on to see Michelle’s travel outfit in full, then shop a similar dress ahead.
