Michelle Obama said that the thought of her running for president is "unthinkable," The Hill reported. The former first lady's name has been bandied about by Democrats desperate to counter President Donald Trump.
Obama appeared last week on the Not Gonna Lie podcast hosted by Kylie Kelce, wife of retired NFL player Jason Kelce. She directly addressed the issue of whether she would consider a presidential run. "When people ask me, would I ever run? The answer is no," Obama told Kelce.
"If you ask me that, then you have absolutely no idea the sacrifice that your kids make when your parents are in that role. It would be unthinkable," Obama later concluded.
Democrats have been clamoring for a popular figure to coalesce behind, and the best they could come up with was former President Barack Obama's wife. During the 2024 election, polling showed Michelle Obama was the only figure strong enough to beat Trump.
This came after then-President Joe Biden was on the verge of stepping down from his reelection bid, leaving the inept Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place. While rumors abounded about her possibly stepping into the role, Michelle Obama never did.
She is qualified based on how staunchly anti-Trump she is, so much so that she railed against him in a speech at the Democratic National Convention. "For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us," Michelle Obama claimed.
"See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black," she added at the August event. Michelle Obama later declined to attend the inauguration in November.
While the former first lady's name continues to come up for Democrats' political hopes, Michelle Obama made it clear that she will not be swayed based on her concern for her daughters, Sasha and Malia.
Democrats who pushed for Michelle Obama to join the presidential race seem to forget how polarizing she was right out of the gate. First ladies are often more popular than their husbands and rarely ruffle feathers.
Michelle Obama certainly bucked that trend. In the runup to her husband's 2008 election, she insinuated that she wasn't proud of America until Democrats began supporting her husband's presidential bid.
“For the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country … not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction and just not feeling so alone in my frustration and disappointment," Michelle Obama said, according to a February 2008 Fox News report.
Although they tried to back peddle, the damage was done to the Obamas' image with that comment. Barack Obama still got elected, but ever since, it has been a tough road with Republicans and certainly would preclude Michelle Obama from becoming a presidential candidate.
Michelle Obama is not wrong that it should be a tremendous disruption for their kids, although they are both grown now. Still, it wouldn't be a shock if she changed her mind just in time to run in 2028.
