Former first Lady Michelle Obama said it was not easy for her or husband Barrack Obama during the transition of power with then-President-elect Donald Trump.
In a lengthy post on Instagram, Obama reflects how her family transferred power to the former reality television star, who she describes as a racist, CBS reports.
“I have to be honest and say that none of this was easy for me. Donald Trump had spread racist lies about my husband that had put my family in danger. That wasn’t something I was ready to forgive. But I knew that, for the sake of our country, I had to find the strength and maturity to put my anger aside,” Obama wrote.
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As Trump refuses to concede to the projected winner of the 2020 election, President-elect Joe Biden, Obama explained to her 43 million Instagram followers how she accepted the 2016 presidential results.
“This week, I’ve been reflecting a lot on where I was four years ago. Hillary Clinton had just been dealt a tough loss by a far closer margin than the one we’ve seen this year,” Obama’s post began.
On Election Day 2016, most assumed the former secretary of state would have defeated Trump to become the first female U.S. president.
Clinton lost to Trump, prompting a whirlwind of confusion over how the polls predicted the election results completely wrong.
For the Obamas, this loss meant that the first Black family in the White House would have to relinquish their power to a man some say is just as famous for his racism and sexism.
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“I was hurt and disappointed—but the votes had been counted and Donald Trump had won. The American people had spoken. And one of the great responsibilities of the presidency is to listen when they do,” Obama wrote on IG. “So my husband and I instructed our staffs to do what George and Laura Bush had done for us: run a respectful, seamless transition of power—one of the hallmarks of American democracy.”
She goes on to explain how she “welcomed Melania Trump into the White House and talked with her about my experience, answering every question she had—from the heightened scrutiny that comes with being First Lady to what it’s like to raise kids in the White House,” Obama wrote. Read her full message via the Instagram embed above.
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