Michelle Obama has condemned Donald Trump in a scathing new video that accuses him of “wilful mismanagement” of the coronavirus crisis and of racism.
In the film, released on Tuesday by Joe Biden’s campaign, the former first lady calls on black and young voters not to “waste” their ballots in the November presidential election.
She notes that Covid-19 has killed more Americans than the Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam and Korean wars combined, adding: “Our commander in chief, sadly, has been missing in action.”
Mrs Obama accuses the president of being “racist” when he and other Republicans are “lying about how minorities will destroy the suburbs”, which she says is meant to “distract from his breathtaking failures”.
She also calls on undecided voters “to think about all those folks like me and my ancestors” and have some empathy for what it is like “to walk around your own country scared that someone’s unjustified fear of you could put you in harm’s way”.
Mrs Obama urges any black and young voters who are considering sitting out the election to have a rethink, because “we don’t have the luxury to assume that things are going to turn out OK”.
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