Former First Lady Michelle Obama, in a moderate but hurtful address Monday to close the night of the Democrats’ opening convention, accused the White House of President Trump of operating in “chaos” and without “empathy”, to urging voters to cast their ballots for Joe Biden as their lives depend on it.
In pre-emptive remarks, Obama emphasized the “astonishing power of the presidency,” while saying the job “requires clear judgment, a mastery of complex and competing issues, a moral compass, and an ability to listen.”
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She added: “Every time we look to this White House for some leadership or consultation or any semblance of solidity, what we get instead is chaos, division and a total and utter lack of empathy.”
The address was widely praised by Democrats as a forceful accusation by the administration. But it also came at the end of a program of the first night that sometimes had a bare tone, especially with sen. Bernie Sanders reiterated that the country faces the threat of “authoritarianism”.
Trump campaign adviser Steve Cortes told Laura Ingraham, Fox News, that they presented a “dystopian” picture of the country. And the unusual format, at the first virtual political convention, also raised eyebrows as videos of musical performances and news-style segments hosted by Eva Longoria were interspersed with comments from lawmakers.
But Michelle Obama, in an indefinite address, tried to tie the strings, concluding Trump is “the wrong president for our country.”
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“He’s had more than enough time … He’s clearly in his head,” she said. “It simply came to our notice then. He just may not be who we need him to be. “
She added: “It’s what it is.” (This may have been a swipe at Trump’s infamous remark about coronavirus deaths.)
Obama warned: “If you think things can not get any worse, trust me, they can, and they will if we do not make a change in these elections.”
“If we hope to end this chaos, we must vote for Joe Biden, as our lives depend on it,” she said. ‘I know Joe. He is a deeply decent man, led by faith. ”
Obama called the running mate of Biden, sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Net, who is the first woman of color to be nominated as vice presidential candidate for a major party. Fox News is reported to have recorded the video before it was named.
Obama also lamented “America that is visible to the next generation.”
“A nation that underperforms, not only in matters of policy, but in matters of character, and that is not only disappointing, it is immediately irritating,” she said, noting that she “has the goodness and grace” at all. country knows.
Obama said empathy was something she “has been thinking about a lot lately.”
“The ability to walk in someone’s shoes. The recognition that someone else’s experience has values as well,” she said. “Most of us practice this without a second thought.”
She went on to say that children in the US “see what happens when we stop demanding empathy from each other.”
“They look around and ask if we’re lying to them all this time,” she said. “They see people crying in messages who do not want to wear a mask to keep us all safe; they see people calling the police on people who think their own business only because of the color of their skin … They see that our leaders are fellow citizens hating the state while emboldening torch-white supremacists. “
Meanwhile, Obama referred to her “they go low, we go high” catchphrase, declaring that “going high is the only thing that works”, but does not always mean to be nice.
“When we degrade, degrade and dehumanize others, we just become part of the other noise that drowns everything else,” she said. “Let’s be clear: going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted with vulnerability and cruelty.”
She added: “Going high means going the higher path – scraping and clawing to that mountain top.”
