Michelle Obama's Response To The Capitol Riot Is What Everyone Is Thinking
In the astounding wake of the destructive pro-Trump insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, Americans across the country are still shocked and dismayed with the chaos that ensued, including former first lady Michelle Obama. President Donald Trump roused mobs to march on the Capitol following his Jan. 6 "Save America" rally with unfounded claims of election fraud, putting the lives of American lawmakers in grave danger. The White House did not previously respond to Elite Daily's request for comment on Trump's influence on the riot. But Michelle Obama's response to the Capitol riot points out how there are two versions of America — and they aren't treated equally.
"Like all of you, I watched as a gang — organized, violent, and mad they’d lost an election—laid siege to the United States Capitol," Obama wrote in a statement shared on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. "And once authorities finally gained control of the situation, these rioters and gang members were led out of the building not in handcuffs, but free to carry on with their days. The day was a fulfillment of the wishes of an infantile and unpatriotic president who can’t handle the truth of his own failures. And the wreckage lays at the feet of a party and media apparatus that gleefully cheered him on, knowing full well the possibility of consequences like these."
In her statement, Obama recalled the early summer protests by Black Lives Matter activists in D.C. following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who was killed by Minneapolis police officers on May 25, 2020. On Jun. 1, 2020, law enforcement dispersed protesters using tear gas and brute force, clearing the way for Trump to take a walk through Lafayette Park to get to St. John’s Church for a photo-op. "This summer's Black Lives Matter protests were an overwhelmingly peaceful movement," Obama wrote. "And yet, in city after city, day after day, we saw peaceful protesters met with brute force. We saw cracked skulls and mass arrests, law enforcement pepper spraying its way through a peaceful demonstration for a presidential photo op," she added.
Obama then pointed out a stark contrast in D.C. law enforcement's response to the pro-Trump rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, stating "yesterday made it painfully clear that certain Americans are, in fact, allowed to denigrate the flag and symbols of our nation. They've just got to look the right way." She later noted how "seeing the gulf between the responses to yesterday's riot and this summer's peaceful protests and the larger movement for racial justice is so painful."
Obama isn't alone in her sadness — millions of Americans across the country are struggling to come to grips with this trauma inflicted upon U.S. democracy on Jan. 6. Indeed, many long-time White House officials working under Trump have since resigned following the Capitol assault, while Trump himself has refused to meaningfully condemn the actions of his supporters, instead reaffirming his baseless claims of a stolen presidential election. "We love you," Trump stated in a video addressing the rioters holding the Capitol under siege. "You're very special," he added. The White House did not reply to Elite Daily's request for comment regarding Trump's potential role in instigating the riot.
The only way to truly remediate the situation, Obama states, is to "acknowledge that this disconnect exists and take steps to repair it ... if we have any hope of improving this nation, now is the time for swift and serious consequences for the failure of leadership that led to yesterday's shame."
