Former First Lady Michelle Obama has taken to Instagram to share her thoughts as outgoing President Donald Trump continues to refuse to concede the recent presidential election, which he conclusively lost. Contrary to basic reality, Trump has claimed as recently as this Monday that he won the election, which is unequivocally false — and puts American democracy in danger thanks to the distrust in the electoral process that Trump is spreading among his followers. On Instagram, the former First Lady spotlighted the critical work of ensuring a seamless transition of power between presidential administrations — a front on which the Trump administration is currently failing.
In her comments, Michelle noted that working on the transition between the Obama and Trump administrations wasn’t “easy” — after all, Donald Trump had been one of the chief purveyors of the racist conspiracy theory that Barack Obama may not have been born in the United States — but Michelle says that she nonetheless “knew that, for the sake of our country, [she] had to find the strength and maturity to put [her] anger aside.” That’s what she did — as she explains, she “welcomed Melania Trump into the White House and talked with her… answering every question she had—from the heightened scrutiny that comes with being First Lady to what it’s like to raise kids in the White House.”
At present, the Trump administration is, by and large, refusing to go down this path of a peaceful transfer of power. It’s not just a matter of niceties — democracy, in theory, runs on a basic level of common agreement. With his lies, Trump has been working to shred that common agreement and try and overrule the will of the people, trying to get himself installed for four more years in power, as if he imagines himself as an authoritarian dictator.
Michelle added the following:
‘Our love of country requires us to respect the results of an election even when we don’t like them or wish it had gone differently—the presidency doesn’t belong to any one individual or any one party. To pretend that it does, to play along with these groundless conspiracy theories—whether for personal or political gain—is to put our country’s health and security in danger. This isn’t a game. So I want to urge all Americans, especially our nation’s leaders, regardless of party, to honor the electoral process and do your part to encourage a smooth transition of power, just as sitting presidents have done throughout our history.’
Read her comments in the post below:
Michelle Obama: "This isn't a game. So I want to urge all Americans, especially our nation's leaders, regardless of party, to honor the electoral process and do your part to encourage a smooth transition of power, just as sitting presidents have done throughout history." pic.twitter.com/YsNXsRMD27
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 16, 2020
View Twitter’s response below:
