Michelle Obama made it clear she has no plans to enter the political arena, and she thinks the country’s reluctance to elect a woman is the reason.
During a conversation with Tracee Ellis Ross at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Friday (Nov. 14), where she was promoting her new book The Look, the former first lady told the audience that America has shown it’s not prepared to choose a woman for the nation’s highest office.
“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 didn’t specify which election she was referring to, but she made clear that the political climate and voters’ attitudes are the barrier, not a lack of qualified female leaders.
“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. I think we still have growing to do in that regard.”
Despite consistently ranking as one of the most admired women in America and often polling as more popular than her husband, former President Barack Obama, she has repeatedly rejected the idea of running for president.
A 2024 poll showed she was the only Democrat with a strong chance of defeating Donald Trump at the time, yet Obama has maintained that public office is not in her future.
Her comments come amid a complicated history for women in presidential politics. Two of the last three Democratic nominees, Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Kamala Harris in 2024, were women, and both ultimately lost to Trump.