Many have noticed that these are dark, divisive days in American politics in which bitterness and misinformation are quickly becoming defining values.
Few embody this needless antagonism like conservative commentator Tomi Lahren, whose attacks on everyone from Colin Kaepernick to Rep. Joe Kennedy to Kathy Griffin have earned her strong admiration from Republicans—which is only matched by detestation from Democrats.
Today, Tomi Lahren—yet again—tried it, this time aiming her ire at former First Lady Michelle Obama.
An excerpt of Mrs. Obama's upcoming memoir Becoming was released on Monday in which she tells of how she felt watching Donald Trump get inaugurated on that fateful day in January 2017:
"Someone from Barack's administration might have said that the optics there were bad, that what the public saw didn't reflect the President's reality or ideals, but in this case, maybe it did. Realizing it, I made my own optic adjustment. I stopped even trying to smile."
Despite the fact that many Americans could relate to Obama's feelings, Lahren still couldn't help herself, tweeting:
And Twitter users immediately took her to task.
Many made it clear that no one was smiling.
This isn't the first time Tomi Lahren has used her platform to spew pettiness against those who have achieved infinitely more than she has. It isn't even the first time she's come after the former First Lady.
Lahren struck the ire of Americans everywhere by having the gall to tell Michelle Obama to sit down.
Not only were the flaws she attributed to the presidency of Barack Obama demonstrably false and not only could most of them be said of Donald Trump, but Lahren's dismissal of an accomplished public figure with degrees from Princeton and Harvard seemed tactless and bigoted to many.
Because the instigation of public outrage is the practically only thing keeping Tomi Lahren relevant, it's unlikely that her attacks on the former First Lady and others will relent any time soon. However, it's not enough to make a career. When Tomi Lahren's microphone is finally taken away, you can bet we'll all be smiling.
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