Michelle Obama has weighed in on President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump’s refusal to go ahead with a transition of power to the incoming administration, reflecting on where she was four years ago and how, through the process of handing over responsibility to the government . Trumps was difficult, he insisted.
“I was hurt and disappointed, but the votes had been counted and Donald Trump had won,” the former first lady wrote in a post on her Instagram account. “My husband and I instructed our staff to do what George and Laura Bush had done for us – carry out a smooth and respectful transition of power, one of the hallmarks of American democracy.”
Obama added that she and President Barack Obama had invited Trump staff to their offices and members of their staff had provided detailed memos and insights into their experiences. She confessed in her post Monday: “None of this was easy for me. Donald Trump had spread racist lies about my husband that put my family in danger. That was not something I was willing to forgive.”
The presidential transition process has not officially begun because Trump has baselessly refused to accept the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. The formal transition is likely to remain on hold until the election is certified by a Trump appointee within the General Services Administration in a process known as verification.
Obama said in his post that it takes “strength and maturity to put my anger aside.” In doing so, he proceeded to invite Melania Trump to the White House.
Obama said he responded to Trump’s questions about “the heightened scrutiny that comes with being a first lady about what it’s like to raise children in the White House.” As CNN previously reported, Melania Trump has yet to invite first lady-elect Jill Biden to the White House to carry on the tradition.
For each day that passes without transitioning, the task of preparing the White House for a new first family and moving the current one becomes more difficult.
Among other things on a tight to-do list is planning for organizational changes, moving trucks, cleaning, and verbatim measuring of curtains. Opening Day is a choreographed to the minute event, moving one family and preparing the next, down to storing the coolers and unpacking a first lady’s clothes in her dressing room.
Obama warned Monday of the dangers of prolonging a peaceful and democratic transfer of power not only to national security but also to the stability of US politics, saying, “This is not a game.”
“Our democracy is much bigger than anyone’s ego,” he wrote.
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