While families like the Clintons, Bidens, and Obamas seem to have a lot in common, former first lady Michelle Obama will not follow in her husband's footsteps and try to run for the presidency.
Another former first lady, Hillary Clinton, who, like Obama, holds a law degree in her own right, famously pursued that endeavor to disastrous ends in 2016 when she squared off against President Donald Trump before his first term in office.
Because Obama was so well-liked within her husband's party, many campaign strategists have been aware that she could usher in a third Obama administration if she ran for president.
However, Obama said in a recent interview that a presidential run is "never gonna happen" and insisted she just doesn't want to move back to the White House.
“When people ask me would I ever run, the answer is no,” Obama told Kylie Kelce, wife of retired NFL star Jason Kelce, on a recent episode of the Not Gonna Lie podcast.
“If you ask me that, then you have absolutely no idea the sacrifice that your kids make when your parents are in that role.”
“Not only am I not interested in politics in that way, but the thought of, like, putting my girls back into that, you know, spotlight when they are just now establishing themselves. It’s like, you know, okay. I think we’ve done enough.”
Michelle Obama says she has zero intention of ever running for president, says she has already done enough.
The comment came on Kylie Kelce's podcast.
"And so when people ask me would I ever run, the answer is no."
"If you ask me that [question], then you have absolutely no… pic.twitter.com/CquJDY1WIe
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 25, 2025
The daughters of former president Barack Obama, Sasha and Malia, grew up at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and were seven and ten years old, respectively, when they moved into the White House.
“The day-to-day kind of challenges that any parent has with teenagers, we had it on 100,” the former first lady said.
“I longed for the days when, you know, just write on the wall. …We can wash that off.”
“I was so glad when we got out of the White House,” she added. “I wanted them to have the freedom of not having the eyes of the world on them. I mean, they still are dealing with paparazzi and being who they are and trying to carve out their own identity.”
Even though Kelce's podcast featuring the ex-first lady had over 277,000 listeners, many wondered if Obama would really not run for the office that her husband had held.
“She has zero intention but at any time it can become ‘I’m saving democracy this isn’t my choice’ lmao,” one user posted to X.
“Retirement’s overrated – bet she’ll change her mind!” another listener commented.
“[This] sounds like ‘let’s make it more dramatic when I finally say yes’; good plan,” according to one post.
