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Former first lady Michelle Obama on Monday, August 17 (Tuesday, August 18, Manila time), called on Americans to unite and vote for Joe Biden in the November elections, as she slammed US President Donald Trump.

“I am one of a handful people living today who has seen first hand the immense weight and awesome power of the presidency. Let me once again tell you this: The job is hard. It requires clear-headed judgment, mastery of complex and competing issues, a devotion to facts and history, a moral compass and an ability to listen. And abiding belief that each of the 330 million lives in this country has meaning and worth.”

“As honest and clear as I possibly can, Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. 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, it is what it is,” Obama said in a speech aired during the virtual Democratic National Convention 2020.

“A president’s words have the power to move markets. They can start wars or broker peace. They can summon our better angels or awaken our worst instincts. You simply cannot fake your way through this job,” she added.

Citing results of the 2016 elections, Obama said many Americans opted not to vote resulting in Trump’s victory.

This time, she said, Americans have to go all-out vote for Biden with the “same level of passion” as they did in the 2008 and 2012 elections, which saw former president Barack Obama, the first African-American president, as the winner.

“If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me they can and they will if we don’t make a change this elections. If we have any hope in ending this, we have to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it,” Obama said.

“This is not the time to withhold our votes in protest or play games with candidates who have no chance of winning. We have got to vote like we did in 2008 and 2012. We’ve got to show up with the same level of passion and hope for Joe Biden.”

“He will tell the truth and trust science. His life is a testament to getting back up, and he is going to channel that same grit and passion to pick us all up, to help us heal and guide us forward.”

Obama also harped back to her famous 2016 DNC line – when they go low, we go high – and called on supporters to continue doing so despite attacks and dehumanizing tactics.

She, however, clarified that doesn’t “mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty.”

“Going high means taking the harder path. It means scraping and clawing our way to that mountain top…. Going high means standing fierce against hatred while remembering that we are one nation under God, and if we want to survive, we’ve got to find a way to live together and work together across our differences.” – Rappler.com