Michelle Obama has a message for anyone hoping she’ll run for president: stop asking. And she didn’t mince words about why.
During a candid conversation with Tracee Ellis Ross at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Nov. 14, part of the tour for her new book The Look, the former First Lady made it clear she has no plans to seek the Oval Office, not because she doubts her abilities, but because she doubts the country’s readiness.
“As we saw in this past election, sadly, we ain’t ready,” Obama said. “That’s why I’m like, don’t even look at me about running, because you all are lying. You’re not ready for a woman. You are not.”
Obama argued that while Americans often say they want progress, their votes tell a different story.
“So don’t waste my time,” she added. “We got a lot of growing up to do, and there are still, sadly, a lot of men who feel like they cannot be led by a woman, and we saw it.”
Michelle Obama has consistently polled as one of the most admired women in the country, often even more popular than former President Barack Obama during their time in the White House. And despite repeatedly ruling out political ambitions, speculation about a future run has never fully faded.
During the 2024 cycle, as Democrats publicly wrestled with whether President Joe Biden should step aside, polling suggested that Obama was the only Democrat who could decisively defeat Donald Trump in a general election. Still, she remained resolute: she wasn’t interested.
Obama’s comments point to a larger truth about American politics, one echoed by research, results, and history. Two of the last three Democratic nominees were women: Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris. Both lost to Donald Trump.
Her critique wasn’t aimed at voters broadly, but at the country’s deep-rooted discomfort with female leadership.
“There are still men who do not feel like they can be led by a woman,” she said plainly. “We still have growing to do in that regard.”
She’s not running.
She’s not interested.
And in her view, America has homework to do before it even deserves to ask.
