Michelle Obama condemned Donald Trump on Thursday for his "disgraceful" comments and accused the Republican nominee of "bragging about sexually assaulting women" in the wake of the release of a 2005 recording that has rocked the 2016 campaign just one month before Election Day.
"Enough is enough, this has got to stop right now," she said Thursday at a rally for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire.
In an emotional and personal speech, the first lady said Trump's comments had "shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn’t have predicted" and never referred to Trump by name, calling him only a "candidate" or "Hillary's opponent."
"This wasn’t just locker room banter, this was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behavior," Obama said.
Related: Watch The Full Speech
Trump defended his lewd remarks during the second presidential debate on Sunday, saying the words were "locker room talk." He denied sexually assaulting women.
In a speech on Friday, Trump also referred to the remarks as "locker room banter" and added "I apologize if anyone was offended."
"The fact is that in this election we have a candidate who over the course of his lifetime and this campaign has said things about women that are so shocking and so demeaning, I simply will not repeat any of them here today," Obama said.
"Last week we saw this candidate actually bragging about sexually assaulting women," she added. "I can't stop thinking about this."
The first lady's remarks came in her first campaign appearance since the release of the 2005 recording during the filming of an episode of "Access Hollywood" in which Trump is caught making the crude comments about women. The remarks caused widespread condemnation from leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties alike.
"This is not normal. This is not politics as usual," Obama said Thursday.
"This isn’t about politics, its about basic human decency," she added.
Obama drew sharp contrasts between Clinton and Trump, saying that the Democratic nominee "embodies so many of the values that we try so hard to teach our young people."
"We need someone who is a uniting force in this country, who will heal the wounds that divide us," she said. "Someone who truly cares about us and our children, someone with strength and compassion to lead forward."
"I believe with all my heart that Hillary Clinton will be that president," she added.
Obama called on the audience to vote on Election Day and said that a vote for a third-party candidate, or not voting at all, was a vote in favor of Trump.
Related: The Allegations Women Have Made Against Donald Trump
"In our hearts we all know that if we let Hillary's opponent win the election, then we are sending a clear message our kids that everything they're seeing and hearing is perfectly okay," she said.
"We are validating it, we are endorsing it," she added. "We are telling our sons that it is okay to humiliate women, telling our daughters that this is how we deserve to be treated, that bigotry and bullying are perfectly acceptable. Is that we want for our children?"
The first lady said Trump's comments were not only demeaning and hurtful to women, but also affected boys who "are looking for role models of what I means to be a man."
"Let’s be very clear, strong men, men who are truly role models don’t need to put down women to make themselves feel powerful," she said.
The first lady has been a powerful surrogate for Clinton, speaking at rallies several times over the last month in hopes of combating the nominee's issue with mobilizing the base of young people that was instrumental to Barack Obama's winning coalition of voters.
Obama had been wanting to make these comments for some time on what's at stake for women in this election, an aide told NBC News before her remarks Thursday.
Access Hollywood is owned and distributed by NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News and MSNBC.
