Michigan’s Granholm Cheers Clinton and Obama, Jeers Trump: Watch

PHILADELPHIA, PA — A fiery Jennifer Granholm, the former Michigan governor who’s reportedlyin the running to lead the Democratic National Committee, recalled some of the great all-time political lines to skewer Donald Trump before breaking into a stanza of “You’re So Vain,” becoming the latest in a long list of speakers to poke at the Republican nominee at Hillary Clinton’s nominating convention in Philadelphia,

“Now, last week, we heard Trump's hopeless vision of our country. Then he said: ‘I alone can fix it.’ Imagine Donald Trump's version of the Constitution: ‘I, the person, in order to form a more perfect union.’ Or, centuries later, ‘I, shall overcome.’ Or, ‘Ask not what I can do for my country, ask what my country can do for me!’” Granholm said. “Donald: You're so vain, you probably think this speech is about you.”

Granholm bounded on the stage with energy, announcing that she wanted to talk to Americans who feel “those at the top don’t care about you.”

“I know a little something about that. I was governor of Michigan — the epicenter of America's manufacturing rise, and its fall, and its resurgence,” she said, before citing President Barack Obama’s 2009 rescue of the auto industry as an example of what we can do when we work together” and positioning Clinton as the candidate who can keep the momentum going.

Clinton faces challenges in Michigan and the rest of the Rust Belt. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ stunning upset in Michigan’s March 8 primary revealed Clinton’s vulnerability with blue-collar workers based on her support for trade deals like North American Free Trade Agreement critics say have cost Americans jobs.

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• Granholm Possible DNC Replacement for Debbie Wasserman Schultz

The recession was hard on Michigan, which lost 857,700 jobs from 2000-2010. University of Michigan economists say about 200,000 of them are expected to be returned through 2017, and to keep the momentum going, Granholm said Americans must continue to work together — and elect Clinton

“I'm a fierce Democrat. But I know there are Democrats and Republicans across the country who want to create jobs in America. Liberals and conservatives. Public sector and private industry. Because we're not in this alone — we're all in this together,” Granholm said.

“One candidate for president gets that. And one candidate, as Joe Biden said last night, doesn't have a clue. Some people are worried. Some people are angry. I get that. But the answer isn't to tear our country down, it's to build our country up.”

The speech had all of the fervid energy as Granholm’s 2012 Democratic National Convention address, when she delivered a deft blow at Republican nominee Mitt Romney: “Now, sure, sure, Mitt Romney loves our lakes and our trees. He loves our cars so much, they even have their own elevator. But the people who design and build and sell those cars? Well, in Romney’s world, the cars get the elevator, and the workers get the shaft!”

Michigan Republican Party Chairman Ronna Romney McDaniel released the following statement regarding Granholm’s speech at the convention:

“The Democratic Party’s embrace of Jennifer Granholm shows that they aren’t interested in finding the kind of real solutions needed to fix the problems facing our nation. When Granholm fled from Michigan for California at the end of her second term, she left our state a mess. Families were being torn apart as jobs left our state and young college graduates were forced to look for opportunities out-of-state. Now, under strong Republican leadership, we’re setting an example for the rest of America to follow. Jennifer Granholm’s policies failed Michigan, and they’ll fail us all if Hillary Clinton becomes President.”