Michelle Obama has offered a message of hope to Americans worried by a dark political climate, making an appeal to common decency.
“All we have is hope,” the former First Lady said during an appearance on the chat show Ellen, echoing the language of her husband and former President Barack Obama.
After hostess Ellen DeGeneres noted that she felt “frightened” and that “the world is a very scary place right now”, Ms Obama encouraged viewers to focus on positive daily interactions and to “forget what they’re saying in Washington”.
“The thing I learned in the eight years that I was in the White House was that what we do every day in our lives, the good things we do every day — and we know we do it, we show empathy, we care for each other, we do have a lot in common — that’s what it means to lead with hope and not fear,” she said.
Ms Obama’s comments could be read as a rebuke of Donald Trump, who has often used ominous language to warn about crime and terrorism and used his inaugural speech to bemoan a legacy of “American carnage”.
People should be encouraged “to do the things we do every day, to love each other, to take care of each other, to show empathy,” Ms Obama said.
“We have to be an openhearted nation — and that’s who we are. And that’s the truth of who we are. We can’t lost sight of that,” she said.
While American politics were often acrimonious and bitterly divided under Mr Obama’s tenure, Ms Obama said she was nevertheless impressed by the redeeming features of average Americans.
“Even if people didn't agree with me or my husband, they were kind, they were hardworking, they were trying to do the right things every day,” she said.
