Michelle Obama: I met Melania for ‘the sake of the country’

Former first lady Michelle Obama shamed President Donald Trump and his administration for refusing to start the transition to the Biden-Harris administration because some things are ‘bigger than anybody’s ego.’    

‘Donald Trump had spread racist lies about my husband that had put my family in danger. That wasn’t something I was ready to forgive,’ the former first lady wrote in an Instagram post Monday. ‘But I knew that, for the sake of our country, I had to find the strength and maturity to put my anger aside.’   

Obama said that compelled her to reach out to incoming first lady Melania Trump and walk her through what the position entailed. 

‘So I welcomed Melania Trump into the White House and talked with her about my experience, 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,’ Obama recalled. 

The Trumps had peddled the so-called ‘birther’ conspiracy theory about President Barack Obama, the country’s first black and bi-racial president, which questioned the Democrat’s origins, trying to float that he, like his father, was from Kenya. 

President Obama was born in Hawaii. 

Michelle Obama started out her Instagram post by recalling how she had felt four years ago when the candidate she had actively campaigned for – Democrat Hillary Clinton – had lost to Trump. 

The former first lady pointed out that Clinton lost ‘by a far closer margin than the one we’ve seen this year.’ 

Biden flipped back the so-called ‘blue wall’ of swing states, while likely capturing Georgia and Arizona.  

‘I was hurt and disappointed – but the votes had been counted and Donald Trump had won,’ she went on. ‘The American people had spoken. And one of the great responsibilites of the presidency is to listen when they do.’ 

Clinton called Trump to concede in the early a.m. hours of Wednesday and gave a speech once the sun came up.  

‘So my husband and I instructed our staffs to do what George and Laura Bush had done for us: run a respectful, seamless transition of power – one of the hallmarks of American democracy,’ Obama recalled. ‘We invited the folks from the president-elect’s team into our offices and prepared detailed memos for them, offering what we’d learned over the past eight years.’ 

She said inviting Melania Trump to the White House days later, on November 10, was the ‘right thing to do.’ 

‘Because our democracy is so much bigger than anybody’s ego,’ Obama said.   

‘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,’ she continued. ‘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.’

Since a week ago Saturday, when the election was called for President-elect Joe Biden, Trump had continued to peddle theories about mass voter fraud, but hasn’t provided evidence to match.  

Trump’s General Services Administration hasn’t green-lit the process to start the transition.  

‘This isn’t a game,’ Obama said.  

‘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,’ she urged.