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Who really said it

When they go low, we go high

Spoken by Michelle Obama b. 1964 · First Lady of the United States, 2009–2017
Verified In copyright

Michelle Obama delivered the line in her address to the Democratic National Convention on 25 July 2016: “…our motto is, when they go low, we go high.” The exact wording is preserved in the official White House transcript, and her chief speechwriter says the line was Mrs. Obama’s own.

Last verified 16 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Verified quote & credit

“When they go low, we go high” Michelle Obama, Remarks at the Democratic National Convention, Philadelphia, 25 July 2016.

Can you use it?

Still under copyright (rights held by Michelle Obama). A short, credited quote is generally fine for talks, teaching, and internal decks; for commercial, published, or large-scale reuse, get permission.

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In context

Evoking the world of Michelle Obama — Lawyer, author & First Lady of the United States (2009–2017). Theme: "When they go low, we go high". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

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Provenance

The source

Speech
Remarks by the First Lady at the Democratic National Convention
Delivered
25 July 2016 · Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
Speaker
Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States

With every word we utter, with every action we take, we know our kids are watching us. We as parents are their most important role models. And let me tell you, Barack and I take that same approach to our jobs… How we explain that when someone is cruel, or acts like a bully, you don’t stoop to their level — no, our motto is, when they go low, we go high.

From the official White House transcript of the address; the line closes a passage about how she and President Obama teach their daughters to answer cruelty.

White House archive: full transcript of the DNC remarks

How we verified this

  • The official White House transcript records the exact line: “our motto is, when they go low, we go high.”
  • Wikiquote catalogs the line under her sourced 2016 Democratic National Convention remarks — not in any “misattributed” or “disputed” section.
  • Her chief White House speechwriter, Sarah Hurwitz, told reporters “I did not write that line — she came up with it” (The Hill).
In copyright

The address was delivered and published in 2016. A First Lady is not a federal employee whose works fall into the public domain under U.S. copyright law, and a partisan convention speech is a personal work — so the text remains under Michelle Obama’s copyright.

Fact-check

Correctly attributed — but note the myths

Unusually for a viral one-liner, this one is genuinely the person’s own words. The confusions that circulate are about who authored it and how old it is, not whether she said it.

Anonymous / folklore No earlier source

No documented use of the exact phrase predates the 25 July 2016 speech; it is catalogued as her own line, not a quotation, on Wikiquote.

Sarah Hurwitz (chief speechwriter) Credit declined

Hurwitz has repeatedly disclaimed authorship: “I did not write that line — she came up with it. My contribution was typing it,” per The Hill.

The line is authentically Michelle Obama’s, spoken at the 2016 Democratic National Convention and preserved verbatim in the official White House transcript.

Context

Why it mattered

Michelle Obama delivered the line while making the case for Hillary Clinton and, without naming him, rebuking the tone of Donald Trump’s campaign. Framed as parenting advice — how she and the President teach their daughters to answer cruelty — it became the emotional center of the 2016 convention and one of the most repeated political phrases of the decade.

She returned to the motto often in later years, including a candid reflection at the 2020 convention that going high is “a hard way to live — but it is the only way.” The phrase has since been printed on posters, shirts, and memes far beyond its original context.

“When someone is cruel, or acts like a bully, you don’t stoop to their level.”

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Character Leadership

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

White House archive — full DNC transcriptobamawhitehouse.archives.gov

The official, primary transcript containing the exact line.
NPR — prepared remarks, 2016 DNCnpr.org

Independent full text of the speech for cross-checking wording.
CNN — transcript and video of the speechcnn.com

News-archive transcript plus video of the delivered address.
Wikiquote — Michelle Obama (sourced)en.wikiquote.org

Catalogs the line under her sourced 2016 DNC remarks.
The Hill — speechwriter credits Mrs. Obamathehill.com

Sarah Hurwitz disclaims authorship of the line.
CNBC — Obama on the catchphrasecnbc.com

Obama reflecting on the phrase’s meaning and afterlife.

The speaker

About Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama

b. 1964 · Lawyer, author & First Lady of the United States (2009–2017)

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as First Lady from 2009 to 2017. A Princeton and Harvard Law graduate, she became one of the most visible and quoted public figures of her era; her 2018 memoir Becoming was a record-breaking bestseller. Her 2016 convention line “when they go low, we go high” became a defining political catchphrase of the decade.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

Michelle Obama, “Remarks by the First Lady at the Democratic National Convention,” Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, 25 July 2016. Transcript, The White House (obamawhitehouse.archives.gov).

MLA (9th ed.)

Obama, Michelle. “Remarks by the First Lady at the Democratic National Convention.” The White House, 25 July 2016, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia.

APA (7th ed.)

Obama, M. (2016, July 25). Remarks by the First Lady at the Democratic National Convention [Speech transcript]. The White House.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘When they go low, we go high’?” Last verified 16 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/when-they-go-low-we-go-high

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