Stormy Daniels' Lawyer Just Came For Your Favorite Michelle Obama Quote

Hot on the heels of his announcement that he is "exploring a run for the presidency of the United States," Stormy Daniels' lawyer Michael Avenatti tweeted about Michelle Obama and her famous quote from the 2016 presidential campaign. "When they go low, we go high," Obama said at the Democratic National Convention. But Avenatti doesn't think that's going to work to take on Trump.

Avenatti first gave the alternate take on Obama's words in Iowa on Friday. He attended a Democratic Party fundraiser called the Wing Ding in the northern Iowa town of Clear Lake.

“We must be a party that fights fire with fire,” Avenatti reportedly told the audience. “When they go low, I say hit back harder.” The New York Times reported that he received a larger applause than anyone else who attended.

The words gained attention following a CNN Opinion piece by political analyst Julian Zelizer, which endorsed Avenatti's point, and said Dems winning "will necessitate engaging directly in the hard-hitting, media-centered, political combat zone within which elections are now determined."

Avenatti quote tweeted CNN Opinion and further explained his view:

I deeply respect our former FLOTUS — an incredible woman. Her message was the right one at that time and in the context she delivered it. But these are now critical times. And for our future and our children’s, we must have a fighter to end this dumpster fire of a presidency.

In her speech, Obama was speaking about how she and Barack had learned to raise their daughters in the charged D.C. atmosphere — not how to win an election campaign. Obama said she worked to raise them knowing that "when someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don’t stoop to their level." Obama continued, "No, our motto is, when they go low, we go high."

Avenatti, though, does seem to be moving towards campaigning. On Thursday, before the fundraiser, he was at the Iowa State Fair meeting Iowans and learning what issues are important to them.

In an telephone interview with The New York Times — live from the fair — he said he was considering a run. "I’m strongly considering it — it’s going to have a lot to do with who enters the race," Avenatti told the paper.

Then the next night, at the fundraiser, Avenatti talked about how he thinks Dems can win. He reiterated his goal to step up the fight in the elections, according to The Des Moines Register. "What I fear for this Democratic party that I love so much is that we have a tendency to bring nail clippers to a gunfight," he told the fundraiser audience.

"Tonight, however, I want to suggest a different course," he continued. "I believe that our party, the Democratic Party, must be a party that fights fire with fire. I believe that we can no longer be the party that turns the other cheek. We must be the party that marshals the power of law and government to strike back at those that strike our cheek and to bring those to justice."

In his tweet, Avenatti makes it clear he's not trying to criticize what Obama said during her 2016 campaign speech. But he also is trying to push a different agenda, one that might include him on a Democratic presidential ticket. He said at the fundraiser that he doesn't see the Democratic Party divided in policy — just divided in "how we should fight" to win elections.

Other Dems may get on board with his plan to "fight fire with fire." It will grow clearer as November draws near.