Tomi Lahren faces furious backlash after telling former first lady ‘sit down Michelle’

Tomi Lahren, the millennial conservative pundit liberals love to hate and and who loves being hated by them, is in a new controversy after telling former first lady Michelle Obama to “sit down”.

Speaking a day after Ms Obama addressed an enthusiastic crowd in Las Vegas and urged people to ensure they registered to vote in the midterm elections, the Fox News contributor took aim at Ms Obama’s reference to her husband having been “a great president”.

“Michelle Obama said we “had” a great president. By what measure,” tweeted 26-year-old Ms Lahren. “Not in economic growth. Not in border enforcement. Not in strength on the world stage. Sit down, Michelle.”

Much of Ms Obama’s address in the Chaparral High School gymnasium on Sunday evening, where she appeared with celebrities and local leaders, steered clear of being overly partisan and she did not refer to Donald Trump by name.

Rather she stressed that people – young people especially – could only have a voice in their nation’s future if they participated by voting.

“The only way to make change in this country is to get out and vote for the change you’re looking for,” she said. “Democracy doesn’t wait for you to be bothered.”

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, she jokingly compared not voting to “letting your grandma pick out your clothes for you”.

“You’re essentially putting your future in the hands of others. And the truth is that’s exactly what some folks are hoping you’ll do,” she said.

In a comment that was seized on Ms Lahren, she said: “If we want qualified people that we trust, then you have to vote. You can’t vote some of the time and then sit out, you know?

“We saw that happen, and we experienced that. And we had a great president. But every couple of years, folks sat out. They said, ‘Well, I did my part. I voted once. I’m done. I’m out.’ But I’m just telling you that democracy doesn’t work that way.”

Ms Lahren’s rebuke to Ms Obama quickly sparked a flurry of criticism on social media.

Karen Hunter, an author, journalist and broadcaster, wrote: “You sit down. Pres Obama created an environment for NEGATIVE immigration. #Facts. The economy? Perhaps you don’t remember the economy Obama inherited, do you? The Great Recession? He saved the auto industry. #Facts. Record stock market numbers during his 8 years. #Facts. Jobs.”

The comedian Kathy Griffiths wrote: “Oh really you dime store Barbie? Mrs Obama may go high, but I certainly won’t. Go f*** yourself, Tomi. You evil, horrible shell of a human being.”

A singer and actress who posts on Twitter using the name Such, said there was a racial element to Ms Lahren’s remark.

“A couple of things. “Sit down” is a distinctly black thing to say (your little trolls can go google its origins) so you’re appropriating black culture to insult a black woman,” she said.

“Secondly, you would hope to be a 100th of the woman Michelle Obama is in 100 years. Sit YOUR ass down.”

Ms Lahren did not seem overly perturbed by the comments. Within 12 hours she was back on Twitter, defending Donald Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by two women – allegations he denies.

“To all you loudmouth leftist men, just remember your words when someone comes out of the woodwork and attempts to destroy and torpedo your life and career based on a fuzzy and politically convenient memory,” she wrote. “Watch it.”