Michelle Obama: Idea of running for president 'unthinkable'

Former first lady Michelle Obama said on a recent podcast episode that the idea of running for president is “unthinkable.”

“When people ask me, would I ever run? The answer is no, you know … If you ask me that, then you have absolutely no idea the sacrifice that your kids make when your parents are in that role,” Obama told Kylie Kelce, the wife of former NFL player Jason Kelce, on a Thursday episode of the “Not Gonna Lie” podcast.

“It would be unthinkable,” Obama later added.

In a poll conducted last summer during the 2024 presidential race, Obama was the only Democrat to come out ahead of President Trump in a head-to-head matchup. The poll came amid a rough period for Democrats during the campaign season as multiple members of the party had already called for President Biden to step out of the race.

Obama also recently skipped Trump’s inauguration, and has written about her anger toward the president due to his promotion of a conspiracy theory that her husband, former President Barack Obama, was not born in the U.S.

“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. 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,” the former first lady said in an August speech at the Democratic National Convention.

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