Michelle Obama reflects on how difficult it was to welcome Melania after Trump won the election
- Michelle Obama said she was hurt and disappointed by the victory of Donald Trump in 2016
- The former first lady said it was hard for her to forgive but she knew she had to put the anger aside
- According to Michelle, the family of former president George Bush had done the same for her and Obama, and this enabled a smooth transition of power
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Following Donald Trump's refusal to concede defeat, former US first lady Michelle Obama has joined her husband Barack Obama in urging the president to facilitate a smooth transition of power to projected president-elect Joe Biden.
Michelle made this known in a statement on her Instagram page on Monday, November 16. The former first lady painted a picture of how she felt four years ago when Trump won the 2016 presidential election, and by a bigger margin floored her preferred candidate. Hillary Clinton.
The mother of two said Trump's victory "hurt and disappointed" her but she was alive to the fact that "the Americans had spoken" and the presidency had to listen.
Source: Getty Images
According to Michelle, the then-president-elect (Trump) had "spread racist lies" about her husband Obama whose eight-years term at the helm of the US had just ended.
"I was not ready to forgive. However, for the sake of our country, I had to find maturity to put anger aside," she wrote.
Just like ex-president George W. Bush and her wife Laura Bush ushered them (Obama and Michelle) at the White House in 2009, Michelle said, as a tradition, she invited Trump's wife Melania at her official residence and chatted with her on what to expect during her stay.
Among things she talked about with Melania include "how to raise children at the White House".
"None of this was easy for me," she continued adding she knew in her heart it was the right thing to do since democracy is so much bigger than anybody’s ego.
The former first lady said Obama instructed his staff to brief Trump's team on the strides he had made to ease transition of power, just like George and Laura Bush had done.
It is in this light that Michelle urged Trump to put the country first and to respect results of an election.
"The conspiracy theories put our country’s health and security in danger," Michelle said in reference to Trump's denial of Biden's victory.
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Recall that Obama, had advised President Trump to put aside his pride and concede defeat in the United States (US) presidential election.
Obama believes Trump should have accepted his fate even a day after the election was concluded.
He urged the president to put the nation first and be remembered as one who was humble enough to shelve his personal interests for the common good of all.
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Oluwatobi Bolashodun Oluwatobi Bolashodun is a journalist with six years of working experience in the media industry. She graduated from Babcock University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication. Oluwatobi is a former Legit.ng Current Affairs Editor, mostly writing on political, educational, and business topics.
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