Michelle Obama is stepping in to help Joe Biden after Tuesday debate, telling supporters to ignore the night’s chaotic spectacle and resist the urge to “tune out,” warning them that President Donald Trump wins through Democratic apathy.
In an Instagram post on the subject, the former First Lady suggested that she understands why Americans might be concerned about the presidential race after witnessing a debate that went largely out of control but urged Biden supporters to stay engaged regardless.
I feel you. Believe me, I do,” Obama said on social media. “But we can’t let him win by tuning out altogether. That’s what he wants.”
Obama then suggested that Trump alone was at fault for the debate’s issues, telling supporters to double down on efforts to elect Joe Biden.
“It’s the only way we can get out of this chaos and restore some stability to this country,” she added.
She ended by suggesting that Trump will try to question a Biden win in November.
“In this election, we’ve got to vote for Joe in numbers that cannot be denied,” she wrote.
Tuesday’s debate was widely panned, with critics suggesting that neither candidate performed well and that moderator Chris Wallace allowed the confrontation to spiral out of control. Trump came out with his characteristic aggression; Biden responded with a series of insults and, at one point, called the president a “racist” and a “clown.” Trump, in turn, suggested Biden was a puppet of the far left.
But Michelle Obama and her husband, former President Barack Obama, can little afford for Biden to lose support in the wake of a poor debate performance. The pair, who sat out the Democratic primary and have kept a physical distance from Biden despite his position as the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, has contributed markedly to the Democrats’ 2020 efforts and would likely prefer not to see those efforts wasted.
“Both Obama and her husband, former President Barack Obama, have played a large — if mostly virtual — role in Biden’s candidacy as some Democrats feel nostalgic for his eight years in office. The Obamas also say they consider the vice president a personal friend — even though the former president has reportedly had doubts about his former vice president’s ability to win the White House,” Fox News reported Thursday.
Michelle Obama is spearheading a “get out the vote” effort alongside Hollywood celebrities. Barack Obama is quietly fundraising for his former Vice President, appearing on Zoom calls with high-dollar Democratic donors rather than at major fundraising events.
The next presidential debate is scheduled for October 15th and will be a “town hall” style debate. The Commission on Presidential Debates announced Wednesday that it is considering changing some of the rules for the upcoming contest, and could allow the moderator, who will be limited to refereeing audience questions, the ability to “mute” a candidate who goes overtime or interrupts his opponent.