Michelle Obama says she won’t run for president because America ‘ain’t ready’
NEW: Michelle Obama says she isn't going to run for president because she doesn't want to waste her time because America "ain't ready."
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 15, 2025
Tracee Ellis Ross: How do you feel about the fact that the First Lady is an archetype for wifedom and femininity?
Obama: I don't agree with… pic.twitter.com/e03xKMIOvE
WASHINGTON, DC: Michelle Obama shut down talk of a 2028 presidential run, declaring she has no plans to run for president.
She explained that she does not want to run because she believes the country is not yet ready to elect a woman to the Oval Office, she said in a recent interview with Tracee Ellis Ross while promoting her book 'The Look.'
Michelle Obama says she doesn’t want to waste her time on presidential run
Michelle Obama said she doesn’t want to waste her time on a presidential run (Michelle Obama/YouTube)In a recent interview with Tracee Ellis Ross, Michelle Obama said she won’t run for president because she doesn’t believe the country is ready for a woman in the Oval Office.
When Ross asked how she feels about the first lady being seen as an example of “wifedom and femininity,” Obama replied that she didn’t agree with that idea. Ross then asked, "Do you think that impacts the room we have made for a woman to be president?"
“As we saw in this past election, sadly, we ain’t ready,” Obama said, pointing to Kamala Harris’ loss to Donald Trump in 2024. “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. So don’t waste my time.”
She added, "You know, we got a lot of growing up to do, and there’s still, sadly, a lot of men who do not feel like they can be led by a woman, and we saw it."
Although Michelle Obama has no plans to run for president, she already spent eight years in the White House while her husband, Barack Obama, served as president from 2009 to 2017.
Michelle Obama says presidents should set standards on accepting gifts
Michelle Obama recently spoke out about presidential standards without naming Donald Trump, saying that presidents must set clear norms about accepting gifts.
She explained at the 'Sixth and I' synagogue and arts center in Washington, "When you are the commander in chief, there’s a standard at which you have to set for the American people. And some of these things aren’t even laws — they’re just norms."
She said, "They’re just things that you do because you don’t want the people to feel like wealthy people have a different level of access and access to power."
“So that means you got to say ‘no’ a lot,” she said while promoting 'The Look,' her new book written with her longtime stylist Meredith Koop. She joked that during her time in the White House, her family followed the rule, “Our motto was: If it looks like fun, we can’t do it”
Michelle Obama shared an example from early in Barack Obama’s political career. Oprah Winfrey once sent her a huge thank-you gift after an interview, a box filled with first-edition Ralph Lauren clothing, including several suits and sweaters. Obama said her husband immediately told her she couldn’t keep it. “He’s like, ‘I’m in office. We don’t accept gifts.’” She laughed with the audience as she recalled the moment, saying, “Imagine that?”
Although she never mentioned Trump by name, she also commented on the demolition of the White House East Wing during her conversation with New York Times critic-at-large Wesley Morris.
