‘I KNOW JOE’: MICHELLE OBAMA VOUCHES FOR BIDEN, SAYS TRUMP ‘IN OVER HIS HEAD’
Former first lady emphasizes voting, deems Trump ‘wrong president for our country’
NEW YORK — Former first lady Michelle Obama assailed President Donald Trump Monday night, delivering a scathing critique of the Republican president who replaced her husband as the Democrats opened their national convention.
“Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country,” she declared. “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.”
Obama’s comments came as Joe Biden introduced the breadth of his political coalition to a nation in crisis Monday night at the convention, giving voice to victims of the coronavirus pandemic, the related economic downturn and police violence and featuring both progressive Democrats and Republicans united against Trump’s reelection.
Obama said that “if you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can.” She emphasized the need for all Americans to vote, making reference to the voters who stayed home in 2016 and helped deliver Trump the win that year, even as he lost the popular vote.
“We’ve all been suffering the consequences,” Obama said.
The former first lady appeared in a video sitting alone in a quiet room with a sparsely decorated shelf, a burning candle and a small blue Biden sign behind her.
She warned Americans to “vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it.”
“I know Joe,” Obama said. “He is a profoundly decent man, guided by faith. He was a terrific vice president. He knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic, and lead our country. And he listens. He will tell the truth and trust science. He will make smart plans and manage a good team. And he will govern as someone who’s lived a life that the rest of us can recognize.”
The ideological range of Biden’s many messengers was demonstrated by former presidential contenders from opposing parties: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a selfdescribed democratic socialist, and Ohio’s former Republican Gov. John Kasich, an antiabortion conservative.
The former vice president won’t deliver his formal remarks until Thursday night, but he made his first appearance just half an hour into Monday’s event as he moderated a panel on racial justice, a theme throughout the night, as was concern about the Postal Service. The Democrats accuse Trump of interfering with the nation’s mail in order to throw blocks in front of mail-in voting.
“My friends, I say to you, and to everyone who supported other candidates in this primary and to those who may have voted for Donald Trump in the last election: The future of our democracy is at stake. The future of our economy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake,” Sanders declared.
The unified message came as Democrats launched the first presidential nominating convention of the coronavirus era. The allvirtual affair was the first without a central meeting place or cheering throngs. And there were real questions about whether the primetime event would adequately energize the disparate factions Biden hopes to capture.
Republicans face a similar challenge next week.
George Floyd’s brothers speak
Monday’s speeches were framed by emotional appearances from average Americans touched by the crises that have exploded on Trump’s watch.
Philonise and Rodney Floyd led a moment of silence in honor of their brother, George Floyd, the Minnesota man whose death while in police custody sparked a national moment of awakening on racial injustice.
“George should be alive today,” Philonise Floyd said matter-of-factly.
Kristin Urquiza, an Arizona woman who lost her father to COVID-19, which has killed more than 170,000 Americans as of Monday evening.
“My dad was a healthy 65-year-old,” she said. “His only preexisting condition was trusting Donald Trump, and for that, he paid with his life.”
And Rick Telecz, a Pennsylvania farmer, warned that Trump’s trade war has had “truly a devastating effect” on his farm before the coronavirus brought another blow with what he called “misinformation” coming from the country’s leadership.
Democrats abandoned their plans for an in-person gathering in Milwaukee because of the pandemic. The unprecedented gathering is not only testing the bonds of the diverse Biden-Kamala Harris coalition but the practical challenges of running a presidential campaign in the midst of a pandemic.
At this moment, Biden sits in a stronger political position than Trump, who has struggled to expand his political coalition under the weight of his turbulent leadership and prolonged health and economic crises. But 78 days before votes are counted, history is not on the Democratic challenger’s side. Just one incumbent president has been defeated in the last four decades.
Polls also suggest that Biden, a 77-year-old lifelong politician, is on the wrong end of an enthusiasm gap. His supporters consistently say they’re motivated more by opposition to Trump, who is 74, than excitement about Biden. Democrats hope to shift that dynamic beginning with the convention.