Schools have been hard-hit by the Coronavirus pandemic. Around the country, many public schools cancelled the final in-person segments of their school years as the disease spread. In recent days, the Obamas stepped in to deliver inspirational messages to some of the students who have been caught in the commotion. Both former President Barack and former First Lady Michelle Obama delivered messages to students in Chicago Public Schools, who they encouraged to keep working on their ambitions, even amidst the crisis.
Together, the two of them “surprised some high school students during a @CPSCivicLife virtual town hall and discussed the importance of staying engaged in our democracy during this crisis,” the Obama Foundation posted. That message contrasts dramatically with the current vitriol endlessly coming out of the Oval Office from its current occupant, Donald Trump, who’d seemingly rather rant angrily about a dizzying list of people he feels threatened by than step up for a moment of inspirational messaging for anyone.
Separately, Michelle Obama also delivered a surprise audio message to students at her own former high school in Chicago.
As the former president noted, in reference to his and Michelle’s webinar appearance:
‘Change comes when all of us step up and play our part in this democracy. By encouraging our young people, like these students from @ChiPubSchools , to start engaging in our civic life today, we’re already creating something better for tomorrow.’
Change comes when all of us step up and play our part in this democracy. By encouraging our young people, like these students from @ChiPubSchools, to start engaging in our civic life today, we’re already creating something better for tomorrow. https://t.co/9ScwPruoyA
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 11, 2020
The former First Lady added, discussing her message to students at her old high school:
‘It was so much fun to surprise the students at my old high school, @wyhs . I’m so proud of their strength and resilience, as well as those young people around the country, who have worked so hard during this uniquely challenging school year.’
It was so much fun to surprise the students at my old high school, @wyhs. I’m so proud of their strength and resilience, as well as those young people around the country, who have worked so hard during this uniquely challenging school year. https://t.co/nwDhwn1tTo
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) May 12, 2020
In the special message, Michelle insisted how “proud” she was of the students at her old high school, who have been working to get through the unprecedented crisis.
Trump and his allies have recently been running with the idea that there’s some kind of looming “Obamagate” scandal. Asked at a recent press conference to identify a single actual crime that he was alleging that Obama had committed, Trump failed to identify a single thing.
Check out Twitter’s response below.
