Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 8-21-20

Political
Hollywood Applauds Michelle
Michelle Obama Makes A Moral Case Against Donald Trump
Former first lady Michelle Obama's speech at the Dem- ocratic National Convention was not just a powerful con- demnation of President Donald Trump's record and handling of the pan- demic, it was an appeal aimed at the heart and conscience of every American who has watched the chaos of the last four years and yearned to make things right.
Reprising her role as "the closer" -- this time for former Vice President Joe Biden on the convention's opening night -- Obama spoke as the wife of a former President who has seen "the immense weight and awesome power" of the presidency up close. She spoke as a mother trying to teach empathy and instill "a strong moral foundation" in her daughters. And she spoke as an American pained "to see so many people hurting" at a time when the coronavirus has claimed more than 170,000 lives in the US and cast millions into unemploy- ment.
On a night when many con- vention speakers, including four Republicans, tried to convince Americans of all po- litical persuasions that they should choose country over party, Obama urged them to choose right over wrong, re- minding her audience that she hates politics and asked all of
a pre-taped address.
READ: Transcript of
Michelle Obama's speech to the DNC
"Let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Don- ald Trump is the wrong president for our country," the former first lady said, faulting the President for downplaying the virus, stok- ing racial tensions, separating families at the border and ex- hibiting almost no empathy for the grief and loss that so many Americans have experi- enced.
She had harsh words for the President's derisive at- tempts to label demonstrators protested Floyd's death as "THUGS" who present a threat to Americans' way of life and called him out for coddling white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. And she faulted Trump for refusing to acknowledge the racism inherent in American policing as a "never-ending list of innocent people of color continue to be murdered," while "stating the simple fact that a Black life matters is still met with derision from the nation's highest office."
America's children, she said, "see our leaders labeling fellow citizens enemies of the state while emboldening torch-bearing white suprema- cists. They watch in horror as children are torn from their families and thrown into cages, and pepper spray and rubber bullets are used on peaceful protesters for a photo-op. Sadly, this is the America that is on display for the next generation — a na- tion that's underperforming not simply on matters of pol- icy but on matters of charac- ter."
America's children are seeing this White House promote greed, an "entitlement that says only certain people be- long here" and the notion that "winning is everything, be- cause as long as you come out on top, it doesn't matter what happens to everyone else," Obama added.
"He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us," she said, before invoking Trump's callous response when asked about lives lost from coronavirus in this country: "It is what it is."
‘Speaking Truth To Power’
MICHELLE OBAMA
her listeners to "close out the noise and the fear" and open their hearts. Those who do that, she said, "know that what's going on in this coun- try is just not right."
The 18-minute address rep- resented one of the most ef- fective moral arguments against Trump's presidency from a prominent Democrat - - and came with a stark warn- ing from the former first lady. "If you take one thing from my words tonight, it is this: if you think things cannot possi- bly get worse, trust me, they can; and they will if we don't make a change in this elec- tion. If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it," she said in
Michelle Obama has done it again.
The former first lady — or as Twitter likes to call her, the #ForeverFirstLady — delivered a powerful speech Monday night at the Democratic Na- tional Convention, criticizing President Trump and urg- ing Americans to vote for for- mer Vice President Joe Biden “like our lives depend on it.”
Her dynamic remarks drew high and immediate praise on social media from several Hol- lywood figures, including Viola Davis, Kerry Wash- ington, Ellen Pompeo, Oc- tavia Spencer, Mark Ruffalo, Bette Midler, Josh Gad, Yvette Nicole Brown, Mandy Moore,
MICHELLE OBAMA
Yara Shahidi and Obama’s husband, former President Barack Obama.
"@MichelleObama speaking truth to power,” Oscar winner Davis wrote on Instagram. “Donald Trump is not up for the job — but @JoeBiden is.”
Obama’s DNC Speech:
Bernie Sanders Asks Supporters
To Vote For Onetime Rival Joe
Biden For 'Our Democracy'
After battling with Joe Biden for months over the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders pledged his support to the former vice president on Monday at the Democratic Na- tional Convention, underscor- ing the contest between Biden and Donald Trump.
Sanders, 78, used his speech at the virtual DNC to call on his progressive supporters to join him in voting for Biden, who has been criticized by the party's left for being too moderate.
"My friends, I say to you and to everyone who supported other candidates in this primary and to those who may have voted for Donald Trump in the last election: The future of our democracy is at stake," Sanders said. "The future of our economy is at stake. The fu- ture of our planet is at stake. We must come together to defeat Donald Trump and elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as our next president and vice president."
The Vermont lawmaker en- joyed a wave of national groundswell of progressive sup- port — and a long list of celebrity endorsements — in back-to-back election cycles in 2016 and 2020. He championed left-wing priorities such as gov- ernment-backed healthcare, pushing those proposals into the mainstream.
Sanders warned that "au- thoritarianism has taken root in our country" under Trump's presidency and said that De- mocrats "need" Biden as the
Sen. Bernie Sanders speak- ing during the Democratic National Convention on Mon- day night.
next president, though he noted he still disagrees with his for- mer 2020 opponent on a num- ber of issues, including how to achieve universal health care.
But, Sanders said, "this election is about preserving our democracy." (Trump re- sponded on Twitter to other speeches attacking him, includ- ing one from Michelle Obama, but has not responded to Sanders.)
"This president is not just a threat to our democracy, but by rejecting science, he has put our lives and health in jeopardy," Sanders said on Monday, not- ing the deaths and economic turmoil that have resulted from the novel coronavirus pan- demic, which he said Trump has had a "negligent response" to thus far.
"Nero fiddled while Rome burned," Sanders said. "Trump golfs."
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2020