With less than a month to go until the US Election Day, former First Lady Michelle Obama has no holds barred. In a new campaign video released on Tuesday, Obama urged the American people to cast their votes for Joe Biden — and had some harsh words for President Donald Trump in the process. Among other things, Obama called Trump’s actions “morally wrong” and outright “racist.”
In a special 26-minute video called Michelle Obama’s Closing Argument dedicated to those who are trying to decide who to vote for, or whether to vote at all, Obama says she wanted to take a moment to remind people “what’s at stake” and urge people to make a plan to vote. She also brought up white privilege and how Trump has leveraged it.
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“The President and his allies are trying to tap into that frustration and distract from his breathtaking failures by giving folks someone to blame other than them," she said. "They're stoking fears about Black and Brown Americans, lying about how minorities will destroy the suburbs, whipping up violence and intimidation — and they're pinning it all on what's been an overwhelmingly peaceful movement for racial solidarity,” Obama said, referencing Black Lives Matter protests that were reignited in May by police killing George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and more. “So what the President is doing is, once again, patently false. It's morally wrong and yes, it is racist. But that doesn't mean it won't work.”
My heart goes out to everyone touched by this virus, from those at the White House, especially the Secret Service and residence staff whose service ought never be taken for granted, to all those names and stories most of us will unfortunately never know. https://t.co/dtEUrcjPAy
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) October 6, 2020
Obama also drove home Trump’s "failure" to lead at a crucial time. "If you're a parent like me, you're feeling the consequences of this president's failure to take this pandemic seriously," Obama noted, imploring people to "look around the world" and compare other countries’ pandemic response to the United States.
Specifically speaking to young people and Black and Brown people in her message, Obama said, "To all the young people out there, to all the Black and Brown folks, to anyone who feels frustrated and alienated by this whole system, I get it. I really do. Search your hearts, and your conscience, and then vote for Joe Biden like your lives depend on it."
Following a relatively calm composure the last few years, Obama has recently become much more outspoken about Donald Trump and how dangerous he is as a president — and how untenable four more years with him in office would be. In September, she opened up about race in her podcast, saying that as Black people, she and her family “never could’ve gotten away with some of the stuff that’s going on now” in the White House. Her statements in today’s video are also akin to the explicit concerns she voiced during the Democratic National Convention when she said plain and clear, “Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head.”
As she continues to fulfil her “when they go low, we go high” motto, Obama has reminded us that going high doesn't have to mean mincing words or sugarcoating. And though the election is around the corner and the campaign ad is supposed to be a final argument, we doubt this is the last time we'll hear some strong words from Michelle Obama about Trump's governing and behaviour in general.