Former first lady Michelle Obama has told the opening day of the Democratic National Convention that Donald Trump is the “wrong president” for the country.
In the straight-to-camera, pre-taped speech to the Democratic National Convention, the former first lady said the White House is failing to provide “steadiness” and instead is only delivering “chaos, division, and a total and utter lack of empathy.”
“So, let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country,” Mrs Obama said. “He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is.”
Michelle Obama, the final speaker of the first night of the convention, laid out a litany of criticism of Trump’s first four years of office, slamming the support the President receives from white supremacists, his immigration policies and how he has handled recent protest about racial injustice.
“As I’ve said before, being president doesn’t change who you are; it reveals who you are. Well, a presidential election can reveal who we are, too,” Obama said. “And four years ago, too many people chose to believe that their votes didn’t matter. Maybe they were fed up. Maybe they thought the outcome wouldn’t be close. Maybe the barriers felt too steep. Whatever the reason, in the end, those choices sent someone to the Oval Office who lost the national popular vote by nearly 3,000,000 votes.”
Michelle Obama also accused President Donald Trump of “a total and utter lack of empathy” in a condemnation of his actions in office.
“Right now, kids in this country are seeing what happens when we stop requiring empathy of one another. They’re looking around wondering if we’ve been lying to them this whole time about who we are and what we truly value,” the former first lady said
Dozens of people from across the party spoke at the conference’s first night, which was hosted by actress Eva Longoria, as it kicked off the formal US election run for Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris.
Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden’s closest Democratic rival, called for his supporters, who are generally seen as more left-wing, to back the former vice president.
“This election is the most important in the modern history of this country,” he said from his home in Vermont.
“In response to the unprecedented crises we face, we need an unprecedented response – a movement, like never before, of people who are prepared to stand up and fight for democracy and decency – and against greed, oligarchy, and bigotry. And we need Joe Biden as our next president,” he added.
The convention livestream also discussed the coronavirus crisis, economic hardship, and racial injustice.
Joe Biden made an early appearance, hosting a virtual roundtable discussion with local leaders on the future of race relations in the US, after a powerful speech by the family of George Floyd.
