Former first lady Michelle Obama urged President Trump to make a “smooth transition of power” to Joe Biden in a lengthy Instagram post on Monday afternoon.
Obama reminisced how she struggled when she and her husband welcomed the Donald and Melania Trump to the White House on Inauguration Day in 2017.
“Donald Trump had spread racist lies about my husband that put my family in danger,” she wrote. “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.”
“So I 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.”
However, Obama says she knew it was the right thing to do “because our democracy is so much bigger than anybody’s ego.”
“The presidency doesn’t belong to any one individual or any one party,” Obama wrote. “To pretend that it does, to play along with these groundless conspiracy theories — whether for personal or political gain—is to put our country’s health and security in danger. This isn’t a game.”
She concluded, “I want to urge all Americans, especially our nation’s leaders, regardless of party, to honor the electoral process and do your part to encourage a smooth transition of power, just as sitting presidents have done throughout our history.”