Michelle Obama has officially ruled herself out as a presidential candidate, putting an end to speculation that she might enter the race at the last minute to give Democrats an alternative to the aging Joe Biden. The former first lady continues to wield significant star power within Democratic politics despite largely stepping back from the political scene in recent years.
"As former First Lady Michelle Obama has expressed several times over the years, she will not be running for president," Crystal Carson, director of communications for her office, told NBC News Tuesday. "Mrs. Obama supports President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' re-election campaign," Carson told the news outlet.
End to Speculation
According to a recent Rasmussen survey, close to 50 percent of Democrats support replacing Biden as their presidential candidate. Among them, 20 percent favor Michelle Obama over Vice President Kamala Harris, who garnered 15 percent in the same survey.
Although the 60-year-old Michelle Obama has multiple times said that she has no interest in running for office, recent comments expressing her "terror" about the outcome of this year's election have fueled a new round of speculation and discussions about her potential involvement.
"What's going to happen in this next election? I'm terrified about what could possibly happen, because our leaders matter," she said.
"Who we select, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit, it affects us in ways sometimes I think people take for granted," Obama told Jay Shetty on his podcast "On Purpose" in January.
"Politics is hard," she said in a Netflix special. "And the people who get into it ... you've got to want it. It's got to be in your soul, because it is so important. It is not in my soul."
No Choice for Democrats
In a 2022 BBC interview, Michelle Obama expressed her disdain for questions about running for president. However, NBC reported that the former first lady was disappointed when Jill Biden, on the campaign trail in 2020, ruled her out as a running mate for her husband.
Asked by CNN whether Obama was an option, Jill Biden laughed and said: "You know, I'd love it if Michelle would agree to it. But I — you know, I think she's had it with politics. I don't know. She's so good at everything she does. That would — that would be wonderful."
According to two sources, Michelle Obama was unhappy with Jill Biden's response and wished for an alternative answer that wouldn't definitively close the door to the possibility of her being asked about running for office again.
Speculation on a potential replacement for Biden intensified last month following a report by special counsel Robert Hur on Biden's mishandling of classified documents. The report described Biden as "elderly" and "forgetful," suggesting that he was unfit for charges in the case.
