Former First Lady Michelle Obama has no plans to run for President in 2024.
Democrats have been calling on Obama to play a bigger role in politics, but in a statement from her office, her team confirms Obama is placing politics behind her, but is supporting her friends’ campaign.
“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, said. “Mrs. Obama supports President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ re-election campaign.”
Inside sources say the former First Lady will be assisting Biden and Harris with their 2024 campaign, but in a limited capacity. A little closer to Election Day, the Biden campaign is expected to maximize Obama’s star power.
According to a senior advisor on Biden’s team, there have been conversations with the Obama family on campaign engagements, including being involved with her “When We All Vote” voter registration group, promoting organized turnout and closing the registration gap between young voters and people of color.
Biden’s campaign spokesperson, Kevin Munoz, recognizes how beneficial the Obamas were in helping the former VP secure the office in 2020 and hopes the same will happen in November 2024. “President and Michelle Obama were enormously helpful in the fight to
beat Donald Trump and elect President Biden and Vice President Harris the first time, and we are grateful to have their voice and support in the fight for the fate of our democracy this November,” Munoz said.Mrs. Obama’s announcement isn’t just hurting Democratic voters but Republican officeholders as well. According to The Hill, GOP leaders such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Sen. Ted Cruz (TX) and failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy publicly pushed the narrative that Obama was set to replace Biden on the upcoming ballots – without any evidence. But some Republican-leaning voters seem happy that Obama’s name won’t appear.
Following her announcement, a
voter from Texas reacted to the news on Fox, saying, “Thank God. Yes!” Seeking a reaction from a woman ahead of the March 5 primaries, the voter doubled down on her response, claiming she wouldn’t vote for a woman regardless. “I wouldn’t vote for a woman. And especially, you know, Nikki Haley, I’m just going to say this: she’s probably menopausal,” she said.“We don’t need that.”
As mentioned in her statement, this isn’t the first time Obama shut down campaign rumors. In 2019, she said there was “zero chance” she would run for President. During an interview with BBC, Obama said she “detests” the questions she receives about running for office.
Most recently, as a guest on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, Barack’s wife said the upcoming election results keep her up at night. “Our leaders matter. Who we select, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit – it affects us in ways that sometimes I think people take for granted,” she told Shetty. “I am terrified about what could possibly happen.”