Michelle Obama calls Trump impeachment hearings 'surreal' but says America has 'seen worse times'
Former first lady Michelle Obama, on Monday, said that she is opting to remain hopeful amid the ongoing impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. Obama, while talking to Today's Jenna Bush Hager in Vietnam, shared her thoughts on the current tense political atmosphere in the country as Trump faces possible impeachment.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi launched an impeachment inquiry in September after a whistleblower lodged a formal complaint, alleging that President Trump had sought favor from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky during a June phone call, asking him to investigate his political rival, former vice president Joe Biden. The whistleblower also mentioned a possible quid pro quo involved as Trump held back the US military to Ukraine.
"It’s surreal, I think,” Obama said. “The last impeachment hearing, a lot of young people weren’t around for that, so this is all new. I don’t think people know what to make of it." The former first lady, however, said that she feels optimistic that the country will survive regardless of the outcome of the proceedings, adding that America had seen worse times and came out stronger.
"But do I think we can come back from it? Oh yeah,” she said. “We have seen worse times, we have seen tough times in this country. We have gone through depressions and wars and bombings and terrorist attacks and we’ve gone through Jim Crow and we’ve always come out stronger.”
“And that’s what we have to continue to believe, because what’s our choice?” she continued. “To ball up in a corner and call it a day? Well, that’s not fair to this next generation that’s coming before us, that is counting on us to get this right. It’s not an us or them, not an R or a D. We are all here in this country, we all want the same things. It’s just sometimes that gets lost in the noise.”
Speaker Pelosi, last week, announced that she wanted the House to move forward with formulating the article of impeachment, which is expected to be passed before Christmas.
“The president leaves us no choice but to act,” Pelosi said Thursday, later tweeting out the same. “I am asking our Chairmen to proceed with articles of impeachment.”