Michelle Obama Issues ‘Critical’ Call to Vote on Juneteenth

(Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

Former first lady Michelle Obama marked Juneteenth on Wednesday by issuing a “critical” get-out-the-vote message on social media.

“Juneteenth is all about celebrating our collective freedom and fighting to protect it,” Obama said in a video posted on X.

Now in its third year as a federal holiday, Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States when the last enslaved people learned they were free in Galveston, Texas, in 1865.

“Our power, our rights, and even our planet are on the ballot this year,” Obama said. “So, now is the time to think about how you’re going to make your voice heard in this election.”

The former first lady founded the voter registration and engagement group “When We All Vote” in 2018 and urged her 22 million followers on X to visit the organization’s website.

“Get yourself registered to vote, and then text three friends to do the same,” she said. “Do not sit on the sidelines this year, because this is a critical moment for all of us.”

During a January interview on Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast, Obama said she was “terrified about what could possibly happen” with the presidential election in November.

“Because our leaders matter,” she then said. “Who we select, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit — it affects us in ways that sometimes I think people take for granted.”

In March, Obama’s office confirmed that the former first lady “will not be running for president” this year, as many had speculated amid alarming poll numbers for Democrat incumbent President Joe Biden.

“As former first lady Michelle Obama has expressed several times over the years, she will not be running for president,” Crystal Carson, director of communications for Obama’s office, told NBC News at the time.

“Mrs. Obama supports President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ re-election campaign,” she added.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, predicted in September that “the Democrat kingmakers [will] jettison Joe Biden and parachute in Michelle Obama” at the Democratic convention in August.