Michelle Obama’s 2016 “when they go low, we go high” speech was right for her. It was a good, classy message from the outgoing First Lady, a plea for decency and mutual respect in the face of abuse, fascism, racism and misogyny. As it quickly turned out, going high was never really an option for the rest of us. And maybe Michelle has come around to that as well. I don’t blame her for trying, for wanting the American people to be better, to handle every part of this ordeal with grace. But that’s over now. Michelle knows. She issued a statement on Thursday, and she read Donald Trump for filth. Some large sections of her statement:
“I woke up yesterday elated by the news of Reverend Raphael Warnock’s election victory. He’ll be Georgia’s first Black senator, and I was heartened by the idea that the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church—the home parish of Dr. King and a spiritual and organizational hub during the Civil Rights Movement—would be representing his state in the United States Senate…
In just a few hours, though, my heart had fallen harder and faster than I can remember. Like all of you, I watched as a gang—organized, violent, and mad they’d lost an election—laid siege to the United States Capitol. They set up gallows. They proudly waved the traitorous flag of the Confederacy through the halls. They desecrated the center of American government. And once authorities finally gained control of the situation, these rioters and gang members were led out of the building not in handcuffs, but free to carry on with their days.
The day was a fulfillment of the wishes of an infantile and unpatriotic president who can’t handle the truth of his own failures. And the wreckage lays at the feet of a party and media apparatus that gleefully cheered him on, knowing full well the possibility of consequences like these. All I know is that now is a time for true patriotism. Now is the time for those who voted for this president to see the reality of what they’ve supported—and publicly and forcefully rebuke him and the actions of that mob.
It all left me with so many questions — questions about the future, questions about security, extremism, propaganda, and more. But there’s one question I just can’t shake: What if these rioters had looked like the folks who go to Ebenezer Baptist Church every Sunday? What would have been different? I think we all know the answer.
This summer’s Black Lives Matter protests were an overwhelmingly peaceful movement—our nation’s largest demonstrations ever, bringing together people of every race and class and encouraging millions to re-examine their own assumptions and behavior. And yet, in city after city, day after day, we saw peaceful protestors met with brute force. We saw cracked skulls and mass arrests, law enforcement pepper spraying its way through a peaceful demonstration for a presidential photo op. And for those who call others unpatriotic for simply taking a knee in silent protest, for those who wonder why we need to be reminded that Black Lives Matter at all, yesterday made it painfully clear that certain Americans are, in fact, allowed to denigrate the flag and symbols of our nation. They’ve just got to look the right way. What do all those folks have to say now?
Seeing the gulf between the responses to yesterday’s riot and this summer’s peaceful protests and the larger movement for racial justice is so painful. It hurts. And I cannot think about moving on or turning the page until we reckon with the reality of what we saw yesterday. True progress will be possible only once we acknowledge that this disconnect exists and take steps to repair it. And that also means coming to grips with the reality that millions voted for a man so obviously willing to burn our democracy down for his own ego.
I hurt for our country. And I wish I had all the solutions to make things better. I wish I had the confidence that people who know better will act like it for more than a news cycle or two. All I know is that now is a time for true patriotism. Now is the time for those who voted for this president to see the reality of what they’ve supported—and publicly and forcefully rebuke him and the actions of that mob. Now is the time for Silicon Valley companies to stop enabling this monstrous behavior—and go even further than they have already by permanently banning this man from their platforms and putting in place policies to prevent their technology from being used by the nation’s leaders to fuel insurrection.”
An infantile and unpatriotic president? Ma’am!!! “Millions voted for a man so obviously willing to burn our democracy down for his own ego…” Yes, that’s it precisely. What I love about this is that… Michelle didn’t really need to make a statement. Her husband issued a statement on Wednesday evening, and I think everyone is clear on how the Obamas feel about Trump. So I like to imagine Michelle sitting with her thoughts for a day and then deciding to call Donald Trump an infantile and unpatriotic president.
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) January 7, 2021
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
I only would like to point out that Bill Clinton was impeached and Donald Trump who basically was asking for a golpe not.
That’s all I have to say.
I believe they were both impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate.
@Elizabeth Yes that’s correct – Both Clinton and Trump were impeached by the House, but it did not pass through the Senate so they were acquitted.
I only would like to point out that you are wrong; both were impeached by the house & acquitted by the Senate
And what does that have to do with traitor Trump inciting a coup?
That’s all I have to say
At the time of Clinton’s impeachment we (the rest of the world) had the impression that it was something “exceptional”, and that he was risking to lose the presidency over an affair, which was quite disproportionate.
Now we have the feeling that Trump will go away without any consequence, for something fare more worst.
I’m an Australian so I can’t claim Michelle as my own – but I wish I could. I just love and admire her so much.
Yes, she is definitely one to be admired. When Obama was elected in 2008, I jumped up on my coffee table and cried tears of joy at the thought of her being our First Lady.
Love her, and agree with every one of her statements. Some of my Facebook friends don’t want to see any more political posts, because they’re tired of it all. Too bad; we need to DEAL with this. I can’t wait for Rump to be GONE, and all those who enabled and appeased him to be out of public office permanently. It’s been 4 years of a hellish NIGHTMARE, and I hope and pray that the tide is turning with more integrated and youthful voters.
tell them how tired Black folk are of being brutalized and killed for nothing.
WORD UP.
QUEEN.
New York magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi was told by someone close to Trump that he was enthusiastically enjoying watching the siege on television, but was upset by the mess they were making.
“Donald Trump was annoyed by the violent siege on the Capitol Wednesday — which left several dead — because it looked ‘low class,’ according to his adviser. ‘He doesn’t like low class things,'” Nuzzi said.
Meanwhile, a policeman has also died after being smashed on the head with a fire extinguisher, bringing the deaths to five.
OMG, what did he think? It was going to be country clubs, golf carts, and Biff and Buffy with their tennis whites and mink coats? A gold plated sedition?
Also, they set up GALLOWS? I haven’t seen that reported before, and it’s probably because there’s just so much to process that I’ve missed that, but holy sh*t. I can’t wait to see Merrick Garland and everyone go after every. single. traitor.
Yes to the gallows. I saw one picture of it and could not believe it. it was so disturbing.
From what I read, the gallows rope was a cord from one of the media cameras they smashed and destroyed. There is some symbolism in that, but I believe it’s lost on them.
The irony is that he feels he deserves a more sophisticated, higher class army of sycophants but instead these are the people who bow to him. With his level of narcissism, he must be torn between his bottomless need for attention and adulation and his repulsion at who he’s getting it from. This is his perspective. He cannot see past that or give a damn about anyone but himself and his petty needs. He’s thinking: why did they have to ruin his moment by acting so low class? The five dead people, many injured and vandalism are like an annoying fly he has to brush away so he can return to what’s important — brooding about how he’s being persecuted.
I went down a right wing/far-right extremist rabbit hole today and I needed a shower after. These people are not okay and it’s really not healthy the amount of hate speech they feed on. They really treat their fellow citizens with contempt, hate and paranoid suspicion. Michelle is right to read Trump for filth and people should also call out those who enabled him and his kind of speech. I hope he will one day be held criminally accountable, even if it’s just for something like tax evasion.
What?!? You mean he didn’t like the Kentucky Fried gang that was desecrating the capitol?
Love, Love, Love MB. Class, poise and education.
I can’t imagine how the Obamas must have felt watching what unfolded on Wednesday. It must have been very frustrating knowing they couldn’t do anything.
I love the way she drags him every single time. Now that’s an educated First Lady.
Well, like Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama was just as qualified for the Presidency as her husband. All four of them are lawyers, well educated, well-read and articulate.
People tend to forget that about Michelle Obama especially because she was not actively practicing law but focused on other things (including family matters) so their children would not have both parents in time-consuming high-stress jobs. That decision helped keep the adults sane also.
Anyway – unlike President Tweeter, Michelle Obama has read and understands the US Constitution in detail.
I feel like she probably had some significantly stronger words and toned them down to “infantile and unpatriotic.”
One of the things I love about her and Obama is that when they write, you know its them. You can hear their voice. I’m sure someone reviews her statements (maybe not this one, but in general) but they never stifle HER.
I just hope that this will shut up people who say that the police were justified over the summer, or that it makes clear to everyone what the BLM is actually about. I am seeing lots of “violence is never the answer” posts though and someone defriended me over my response (which I thought was very nice, I just pointed out that one was treason and one wasn’t.)
💖
👏
I am so honored that she and her husband represented our country for 8 years.
She’s so absolutely right and asking that there be consequences for Trump and for all who played a part in what culminated in the horrible, violent, seditious acts on Tuesday.
She’s also asking that people pause, be thoughtful, and honest. Who would have thought that asking for such basic attributes of our fellow Americans seems far fetched, a pie-in-the-sky hope?
She’s right and a total class act.
Finally! Thank you MO!
Such as a class act.
This non-American will always respect and empathise with the Americans who voted for the Obama’s.