'Am I allowed to hit her now?’: Trump said 'nasty' Michelle Obama 'hit' him

The Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump claimed that the former First Lady Michelle Obama has been "nasty" with him and "hit" him. 

Addressing his closing rally on Monday (Nov 4) in North Carolina, the former president asked the crowd if he was "allowed to hit back at her now." 

Narrating a conversation with his adviser, Trump said, "Michelle...I was so nice to her out of respect. She hit me the other day. I would say, ‘Am I allowed to hit her now?’ They said: ‘Take it easy, sir.’ My geniuses, they said, ‘Just take it easy.’ ‘What do you mean? She said that about me, I can’t hit back?’ ‘Sir, you’re winning. Just relax.'"

He further asked the crowd, "Is that good or bad advice? " and answered, "I think it's neutral." 

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He then asked the "ladies of North Carolina" if he should "hit back or just relax." 

“I’d love to hit back, but we’ll hold it a little while," he added. 

'A big mistake'

It was not the first time Trump criticised Obama. At his previous rally too, Trump said she had made "A big mistake" by not being nice to him. 

At a rally in October in Georgia's Atlanta, Trump said, "You know who's nasty to me? Michelle Obama." 

"I always tried to be so nice and respectful. She opened up a little bit of—a little bit of a box. She opened up a little bit of something. She was nasty. Shouldn't be that way. That was a big mistake that she made," the Republican said. 

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While endorsing the Democratic nominee Kamala Harris for the 2024 US election, Obama said, "We are holding Kamala to a higher standard than her opponent. We expect her to be intelligent and articulate and to prove time and time again. But with Trump, we expect nothing at all. No understanding of policy. No ability to put together a coherent argument. Instead, too many people are willing to write off his mean-spirited antics.”

(With inputs from agencies)