Michelle Obama admits the election was 'painful' — but she still thinks it's vital to support Donald Trump

(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/CBS)

published 20 December 2016

First lady Michelle Obama found out the results of the presidential election in much the same way many Americans did: by checking her iPhone when she woke up the next morning. "I kind of felt how things were going by the time I went to bed," Obama said in her farewell interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Monday night.

Obama admitted the election was both "painful" and "challenging" to "watch and experience," but that hasn't stopped her from being gracious. "Words matter," she said. "[T]he words that we say moving forward, all of us, it matters. Which is one of the reasons why Barack and I are so supportive of this transition. Because no matter how we felt going into it, it is important for the health of this nation that we support the commander-in-chief."

The importance of words was a lesson Obama said she learned after she was called an "angry black woman." At first, Obama said she was bothered by it. "You think, 'That is so not me,'" she said. "You start thinking, 'Oh, wow, we're so afraid of each other. Color. Wealth. These things that don’t matter still play too much of a role in how we see one another."