Michelle Obama News: Former First Lady Says GOP Has Diversity and Gender Problem
Former first lady Michelle Obama has angered many conservatives after pointing out how the GOP has a race as well as a gender problem.
At the Pennsylvania Conference for Women on Tuesday, Obama said that Americans do not trust politics because the Republican party is made up entirely of white men.
"On one side of the room, it's literally gray and white. Literally, that's the color palette on one side of the room," she said. "On the other side of the room, there are yellows and blues and whites and greens. Physically, there's a difference in color, in the tone."
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Obama emphasized that while one side has "all men, all white" the other has "some women and some people of color."
While conservatives like Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna Romney took a shot at Obama for uttering such comments, which she said are false accusations, it was the party itself in its assessment following the 2012 elections that acknowledged the need to diversify.
Following Mitt Romney's loss to Barack Obama, the first U.S. black president, the party conducted a post-election assessment of its relationship with women and people of color.
In their own evaluation, they acknowledged that they do not have enough Hispanic leaders within the Party, not just referring to candidates but to decision-makers within the infrastructure as well. They recognized the need to rebuild a database that should be composed of Hispanic leaders and donors who can contribute to the Republican community.
And in 2016, the GOP's roster of presidential candidates was the most diverse in terms of race and gender. Despite their efforts, the Republicans sided with the current president Donald Trump, who is known and is criticized mostly for his statements against women and people of color.
Latest surveys also agree with Obama. The recent NBC News survey suggests that 47 percent of black millennials and 44 percent of Asian American millennials are unfavorable views of the Republican Party. Meanwhile, Gallup approval ratings show that only less than 3 percent in 10 to 29 percent of women support Trump.
