Michelle Obama has released a star-studded video urging Americans to prepare to vote.
The former First Lady enlisted her celebrity friends Steph Curry and Kerry Washington to explain the importance of the concept, along with others like Megan Rapinoe, Shonda Rhimes and Chris Paul.
Country singer Reyna Roberts also made an appearance, as did Filipino-American beauty influencer Bretman Rock, all urging audience members to start thinking about their favorite candidate for the U.S. election, per When We All Vote.
Obama launched the nonpartisan company in 2018 to increase voter participation. The video comes days after she and Barack declared their loyalty to Kamala Harris.
The commercial opens with a phone call from the former first lady, who sternly asks the stars, “Are you going to vote this year?”
Scroll down for the video:
Michelle Obama has released a video urging Americans to prepare to vote on Sunday, days after declaring her allegiance to Kamala Harris and her husband
Rapinoe, an outspoken Democrat who has openly criticized Donald Trump, was the first to respond.
“Yes, absolutely,” the retired USWNT player answers proudly, as a split screen shows her and her progressive colleagues.
“Of course I am!” says noted TV producer Rhimes at this point.
“One hundred percent yes!” exclaims Roberts, a Black woman who has been championing inclusivity in the music industry since her rise in 2020.
“Of course!” Washington adds, as everyone heeds Obama’s literal and figurative call.
“You already know that,” adds San Antonio Spurs point guard Chris Paul — pictured here with his 15-year-old son Chris Jr.
After this segment, Obama reappears on screen. This time he tells the viewers, “Now it’s your turn to answer the call.” He then reminds the viewers that the election is “only 100 days away.”
During that period, the Democrats will have to come up with a concrete candidate, after Joe Biden was called back at the last minute, after which his Vice President Harris emerged as the intended successor.
Biden himself took 23 minutes to endorse his old running mate before announcing his withdrawal on July 21. The Obamas, by contrast, took almost a week.
The former First Lady enlisted celebrity friends like Chris Paul and Steph Curry to help explain the importance of the concept, as the election is less than 100 days away
Rapinoe, an outspoken Democrat who has openly criticized Donald Trump, was the first to heed Obama’s literal and figurative call, in an ad packed with outspoken progressives
Among them were TV producer Shonda Rhimes and Filipino-American beauty influencer Bretman Rock, who both urged onlookers to think about their favorite candidate
They all gave a collective “Get involved” speech before Obama finished, “by registering and getting ready to vote with When We All Vote today,” touting the national, supposedly nonpartisan initiative that would have anyone serve as party chair.
The video shared on Sunday, a week later, did not make any endorsements, but given the characters featured in it, it did not appear to be skewed toward conservatives.
Obama, 60, seemed to remove any doubt when she specifically addressed issues such as “reproductive rights” [and] ‘the environment’ – touted as ‘our future’, to be decided ‘by vote’.
“So, are you going to vote this year?” the Chicago native asks, a question that is then repeatedly asked by Rhimes, Paul and Rock.
“Come with me,” Roberts then says.
“Join us,” Curry adds — before a collective “Join us,” with Obama closing — “by registering and getting ready to vote today with When We All Vote.
“Send ‘Join’ to 56005,” the message ends, ending an ad full of outspoken progressives.
Except for Roberts, everyone in attendance is the chair of this supposedly nonpartisan initiative, which is also led by celebrities such as Tom Hanks and Selena Gomez.
Jennifer Lopez and Lin Manuel Miranda are also chairmen, as is actress Rita Wilson.
Paul was a staunch supporter of Obama and even a minor member of the president’s administration, as was Curry.
Harris’ campaign released a video Friday morning in which former President Barack Obama and the former first lady called on the vice president to officially endorse her candidacy for president.
Rapinoe and Rimes are also outspoken Democrats, with both criticizing former President Trump on some issues.
Rock, a gay man, and Roberts, a devout Christian, have been less outspoken in their views, but they have both advocated for greater representation of disadvantaged groups in the media, particularly people of their own race and/or gender identity.
While such issues are important, Republicans do not see them as priorities, but as talking points for the left. The left is currently in chaos, because the official nominee is still uncertain.
A Democratic official told DailyMail.com that the former president wanted to make something “more than a statement,” referring to a video released by Harris’ team showing Michelle and Barack supporting her over the phone.
The official, who asked not to be named, added that the announcement was delayed so as not to overshadow President Joe Biden’s speech in the Oval Office on Wednesday night.
“I can’t make this phone call without telling my girl Kamala, I’m proud of you,” Michelle can be heard saying to Harris in the clip. “This is going to be historic.”
“We called to say that Michelle and I are proud to support you and do everything we can to get you through the election and into the White House,” the former president said.
“We called to say, Michelle and I, we couldn’t be more proud to support you and do everything we can to help you get through this election and into the Oval Office,” the former president said at one point during the three-way call. He and Michelle are seen at an Obama Foundation summit in Chicago in 2019
Prior to the endorsement announcement, Trump’s campaign released its own statement saying that Trump would not set a final debate schedule until “Democrats have formally decided on their nomination.”
“Many in the Democratic Party, particularly Barack Hussein Obama, feel strongly that Kamala Harris is a Marxist fraud who cannot beat President Trump. They are still hoping for someone ‘better,'” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said Thursday night.
Harris, meanwhile, thanked both Obamas before hanging up the phone in the video on Wednesday.
“I just want to tell you that the words you’ve spoken and the friendship you’ve given all these years mean more than I can express,” she said. “So thank you both, it means so much.
“And we’re going to have fun with it too, right?” she continued.
Michelle responded, “Indeed!” while the former president added, “Well… look, you’re a happy warrior.”
“And the country needs a cheerful warrior,” Michelle declared in turn, as the Democratic nomination process, which is taking place virtually ahead of the party convention in Chicago on August 7, nears its conclusion.
By then a candidate will be known.