Washington, Jan 9 (IANS): Former US First Lady Michelle Obama admits she's "terrified" about the potential outcome of the 2024 presidential election with ex-President Donald Trump outrunning incumbent Democrat Joe Biden in the polls despite a mountain of legal cases piled up against him, including one to keep him off the ballot.
Obama said November’s 2024 presidential contest is among her top fears that keeps her awake at night, as per a podcast interview released Monday.
"What’s going to happen in this next election? I’m terrified about what could possibly happen, because our leaders matter. Who we select, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit, it affects us in ways sometimes I think people take for granted," she told Jay Shetty in his podcast "On Purpose".
"The fact that people think that the government -- ‘eh, does it really even do anything?’ -- and I’m like 'Oh my God, does the government do everything for us, and we cannot take this democracy for granted'. And I worry sometimes that we do. Those are the things that keep me up," she said.
Michelle Obama's comments come atop President Joe Biden ramping up his reelection campaign, narrowing in on a message that democracy is on the ballot this year. Still, many Democrats have expressed concern that his message isn’t resonating, pointing to polls showing him in a close contest with former President Trump, media reports said.
In the interview, the former first lady listed a number of other items that worry her, including: "Are people going to vote, and why aren’t people voting?"
"Those are the things that keep me up, because you don’t have control over them. And you wonder: ‘Where are we in this? Where are our hearts?'" she said.
Later, Obama suggested there was a double standard when it came to Trump’s legal entanglements and what might happen if a similar predicament befell a Black man. "The bars are different for people in life. That I’ve learned," she said.
Without naming Trump, she said: "Other people can be indicted a bunch of times and still run for office. Black men can’t. You just learn to be good. And in the end, you benefit from that extra resilience."