Michelle Obama makes a moral plea against Donald Trump

Resuming his role of “closer” – this time for former Vice President Joe Biden on the opening night of the convention – Obama spoke as the wife of a former President who has seen ” the immense weight and awesome power “of the presidency. She spoke as a mother trying to teach empathy and instill “a strong moral foundation” in her daughters. And she spoke like a saddened American “to see so many people suffering” at a time when the coronavirus has claimed more than 170,000 lives in the United States and thrown millions into unemployment.

An evening when many speakers, including four Republicans, tried to convince Americans of all political persuasions that they should choose country over party, Obama urged them to choose good over evil, reminding her audience that she hates politics and has asked all his listeners to “shut up the noise and the fear” and open their hearts. Those who do this, she says, “know that what is happening in this country is just not fair.”

“If you take one thing from my words tonight, it’s this: If you think things can’t get worse, trust me, they can; and they will if we don’t change this election. If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we must vote for Joe Biden as our lives depend on it, ”she said in a pre-recorded speech.

“Let me be as honest and clear as possible. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country,” the former first lady said, blaming the president for downplaying the virus, stoking racial tensions, separating families at the border and exhibit almost no empathy for the grief and loss that so many Americans have experienced.

She had harsh words for the president’s derisory attempts to label protesters who protested against Floyd’s death as “THUGS” who posed a threat to the American way of life and called on him to pamper white supremacists. in Charlottesville, Virginia. And she criticized Trump for refusing to recognize the racism inherent in the American police force as an “endless list of innocent people of color continuing to be murdered,” while saying that the mere fact that a black life matters is still disturbed by the nation’s highest office. “

American children, she said, “see our leaders label their fellow citizens enemies of the state while encouraging white supremacists who carry torches. They watch in horror as children are torn from their families and thrown into cages, and pepper spray and rubber bullets are used on peaceful protesters for a photoshoot. Sadly, it is America that is on display for the next generation – a nation that is underperforming not only on political matters , but on matters of character. “

American kids see this White House promoting greed, a “right that says only certain people belong here” and the notion that “winning is everything, because as long as you come out on top, it doesn’t matter what happens to everyone” , Added Obama.

“He’s had more than enough time to prove he can do the job, but he’s clearly over his head. He can’t meet this moment. He just can’t be who we need to be. of him for us, “she said, before citing Trump’s callous response when asked about the lives lost to the coronavirus in this country:” This is what it is.

Obama wrote the speech with the help of a speechwriter and practiced it for weeks, and the remarks were “immensely personal to her,” an Obama aide told CNN. While the speechwriter helped, the former first lady was clear on what she meant, even though she wanted to avoid getting back into politics, the aide said.

Obama attempted to serve as a character witness for Biden, making an explicit contrast between Trump and the man who served alongside her husband for eight years. She noted that the president’s job requires “lucid judgment, a mastery of complex and competing issues, a dedication to facts and history, a moral compass and an ability to listen,” adding that a president must believe that every life in this country has “a meaning and a value”.

Biden understands the losses many Americans face, she said, because he has experienced some of them himself – from the days when Biden’s father struggled to provide for his children, until to the loss of his first wife and young daughter in a car. crash in 1972, to his grief and anguish at losing his son Beau Biden at the age of 46 to brain cancer just five years ago.

“Whenever we look to this White House for leadership, consolation or the semblance of stability, what we get instead is chaos, division and a complete and utter lack of empathy,” Obama said. .

“Joe knows the angst of sitting at a table with an empty chair, which is why he gives his time so freely to grieving parents,” she continued. “His life is a testament to the comeback, and he’s going to channel that same courage and that same passion to take us all, to help us heal and guide us forward.”

Perhaps Obama’s most famous quote came during his speech at the 2016 convention – “when they go low, we go high”. During Trump’s presidency, she said, a lot of people asked “when others go that low, does going high still really work?”

“My answer: going high is the only thing that works, because when we go down low, when we use these same tactics of degrading and dehumanizing others, we just become part of the horrible noise that chokes out everything else,” he said. she declared. “We degrade ourselves. We degrade the very causes for which we fight.”

At a time when the US Postal Service is under attack and lawsuits and legal hurdles are being launched across the country that would limit the right to vote, Obama has encouraged his listeners to vote early, in person or to “ask for our mail ballots. vote now, tonight, and send them back immediately and follow up to make sure they are received, ”then ask your friends and family to do the same.

“We have to grab our comfortable shoes, put on our masks, pack a brown bag for dinner and maybe breakfast too, because we have to be prepared to queue all night if we have to,” she said. declared.

She urged Democrats to muster the same level of passion they did in 2008 and 2012 and pleaded for leaving no doubt about the election margin: “Vote for Joe Biden in numbers that cannot be ignored . “