Michelle Obama’s Speech Reportedly Left WH Staffers ‘in Tears’

Michelle Obama’s Speech Reportedly Left WH Staffers ‘in Tears’
First lady Michelle Obama speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Epoch Newsroom
12/10/2016
Updated:
1/24/2017

Michelle Obama, the former first lady, reportedly made some White House staffers break down in tears, thanking them for their work over the past eight years in the Obama administration.

Obama, 52, held a holiday party with White House staffers who work in the East Wing last month, according to the Washington Post.

They held the party at restaurant “We, the Pizza,” located on Capitol Hill. They then moved to another restaurant, “Béarnaise,” where she spoke to the staffers.

A source who was at the event told the Post that her speech “left everyone in tears.” It’s not clear exactly what she told them. “A spy tells us [she] and crew kept the party going late into the night at the neighboring French restaurant Bearnaise (both are owned by celeb chef Spike Mendelsohn), where Obama gave a thank-you speech that had more than a few staffers teary-eyed,” wrote the Post’s Emily Heil.

The pizza shop owner, Spike Mendelsohn, told ABC News that “it was a very exclusive, private event for her and her staff.”

“It was a celebration of all the work her staff has done over the last eight years,” he added. “Her message struck a cord, it was emotional, especially with everything that’s happening now with the country and the world,” he said.

“There was an underlying sadness that it’s come to an end,” Mendelsohn continued.