Former first lady Michelle Obama said Americans should “lead with hope” after daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres said she was “frightened” by the direction President Trump had taken the country.
On her show Thursday, Mrs. DeGeneres told the former first lady she feels “like the world is a very scary place right now.”
“People are afraid, but then there are people who feel good about the direction of the country,” Mrs. Obama responded, without mentioning Mr. Trump. “So that’s what makes this country complicated because it’s made up of so many different people from different backgrounds. I mean, we are this mosh pit of society and sometimes there’s a rub.”
The former first lady said that at the end of the day, most Americans “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. And that’s all we have, is hope,” she said. “So I would just encourage your viewers, the country, to do the things we do every day: to love each other, to take care of each other, to show empathy — and you can’t do that only when people make you feel good or safe.
“We’ve got to do it all across the board,” she said. “We have to be an open-hearted nation and that’s who we are. And that’s the truth of who we are. We can’t lose sight of that. So, let’s just keep living our lives like that every single day and forget what they’re saying in Washington. That’s not necessarily who we are. We know who we are, and I know who this country is.”
I ❤️ @MichelleObama. pic.twitter.com/c1u8G6bjOI
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) February 1, 2018
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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