Michelle Obama: Trump has shown “a total and utter lack of empathy”

Michelle Obama accused President Donald Trump of “a total and utter lack of empathy” in a blistering 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.

She pointed to “shouting in grocery stores” over wearing masks, the idea that “winning is everything,” emboldening white supremacists, immigrant children being torn from their families and pepper spray being used to disperse peaceful protesters.

“Sadly, this is the America that is on display for the next generation. A nation that’s underperforming not simply on matters of policy but on matters of character. And that’s not just disappointing; it’s downright infuriating, because I know the goodness and the grace that is out there in households and neighborhoods all across this nation,” she said.

“And I know that regardless of our race, age, religion, or politics, when we close out the noise and the fear and truly open our hearts, we know that what’s going on in this country is just not right. This is not who we want to be,” Obama added.

Former first lady Michelle Obama delivered a poignant political speech, taking a swipe at Trump’s presidency and urging those who did not come out to vote in 2016 to make their vote count this upcoming election. Obama said the country has been “living with the consequences” since the 2016 election results.

“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,” Obama continued. “In one of the states that determined the outcome, the winning margin averaged out to just two votes per precinct—two votes. And we’ve all been living with the consequences,” Obama said.