Michelle Obama urges Americans not to turn away from politics after first prez debate: 'We can't let Trump win'
Former first lady Michelle Obama has appealed to her fellow Americans not to turn away from politics after witnessing a disappointing presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio, on Tuesday, September 30. The 56-year-old said such a move would make it easier for incumbent President Donald Trump to win his second term.
Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden met for the first of the three debates at the Case Western Reserve University moderated by Chris Wallace and the outcome left many distraught. The debate saw ugly personal insults thrown by the two veterans at each other with Biden even calling Trump a “clown” and “liar” and even asked him to shut up at one point as the latter constantly interrupted while he spoke.
The two candidates locked horns over a number of issues, including coronavirus, economy, race riots and in most cases, the president attacked the former vice president saying he would be a less capable leader provided he wins the November 3 election. Michelle took to Instagram on Wednesday (September 30) evening to say: “If you were turned off by the President’s behavior last night, I feel you. Believe me, I do. But we can’t let him win by tuning out altogether. That’s what he wants. So turn those feelings into action—turn them into votes for my friend, @JoeBiden. It’s the only way we can get out of this chaos and restore some stability to this country. You can start by reaching out to everyone you know. Make sure they’re registered. Make sure they know how and when they’re going to vote. And then follow up with them, every day, to make sure they cast their ballot. Because in this election, we’ve got to vote for Joe in numbers that cannot be denied."
Michelle famously said “when they go low, we go high” ahead of the 2016 presidential election to target Trump and slammed the incumbent at the Democratic National Convention in August saying “you simply cannot fake your way through this job”. The former first lady remains a highly popular individual in America’s socio-political life but dismissed time and again that she is not interested to join active politics.
Biden greeted by supporters as he makes a train tour through Ohio, Pennsylvania
Meanwhile, as Michelle was making her appeal to the people of America, Biden was greeted by several supporters in Greensburg, Pennsylvania -- the county seat of Westmoreland County, which the former vice president lost along with former President Barack Obama to their GOP opponents in 2008 as well as in 2012.
Biden, who will turn 78 next month, made a number of stops in towns that are not known to be Democratic strongholds on Wednesday as his train went through Ohio and Pennsylvania. At Alliance in Ohio and Greensburg, Pennsylvania, the former veep was welcomed by the biggest crowds that he has seen since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country in March. In Greensburg, the supporters, most of whom wore masks, shouted “We want Joe! We want Joe!” as the presidential candidate, also wearing a mask, greeted them.
One supporter -- 77-year-old Harriet Ellenberger -- said the presidential debate was so depressing that she decided to come out in support of Biden, who has been leading Trump in many key states ahead of the election.
Biden’s final stop during his tour will be in Johnstown in Pennsylvania’s Cambria County which was earlier a Democratic stronghold (Obama-Biden won the county by two points) but became more GOP-friendly in subsequent times.
Pennsylvania is a key swing state that Trump won by a razor-thin margin in 2016 after the Democrats clinched it for seven successive times between 1992 and 2012. Ohio has also seen a seesaw battle in the last two decades and half with both major parties winning it three times each.