Former First Lady Michelle Obama is taking aim at President Donald Trump for trying to overturn the results of the presidential election while the COVID-19 pandemic is raging throughout the country.
In a thread on Twitter on Monday, Obama wrote, “Your vote is your voice. It’s your power. And right now, from the President of the United States on down, we’re seeing and hearing just how desperate some are to take that power away.”
“They want us to believe that their pride is more important than our democracy,” she continued.
“And this is just unconscionable at a time when a staggering number of Americans are dying every day from a virus that was downplayed for far too long. It’s unconscionable to focus on overturning an election rather than helping struggling families or distributing a vaccine.”
And this is just unconscionable at a time when a staggering number of Americans are dying every day from a virus that was downplayed for far too long. It’s unconscionable to focus on overturning an election rather than helping struggling families or distributing a vaccine.
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) January 4, 2021
While President-elect Joe Biden won the November 3 presidential election, Trump has refused to concede and has made unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud.
In the days after the election, his reelection campaign filed dozens of lawsuits to contest the results in battleground states that he lost.
Now, the president’s allies in Congress are preparing to object to the Electoral College vote count — an effort that experts say has practically no chance of succeeding at overturning the election.
The president has taken to Twitter to warn Republican lawmakers who do not join the efforts, as IJR reported.
Additionally, Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to “find” enough votes to overturn the state’s presidential election results.
Obama continued as she urged Georgia voters to not “think that our job is done” after Biden’s victory as she noted the crucial runoff elections on Tuesday, which will determine the balance of power in the Senate.
“These runoffs will decide whether President-Elect Biden has a Senate that will work with him rather than just obstruct him at every turn,” she wrote.
These runoffs will decide whether President-Elect Biden has a Senate that will work with him rather than just obstruct him at every turn.
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) January 4, 2021
She has previously accused Trump of using “groundless conspiracy theories — whether for personal or political gain” and putting “our country’s health and security in danger.”
Additionally, she urged “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.”
Obama’s comments come as the U.S. is seeing an average of 214,270 new cases per day over the past week. Additionally, the death toll from the virus is over 353,000, and more than 20.8 million Americans have tested positive for the virus.