Many left-leaning people in the United States have been openly hopeful that Michelle Obama would consider running for office after Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. In her postelection discussion with Oprah, the first lady makes her position clear.
"No," Michelle says. "Look, that's one thing I don't do. I don't make stuff up. I'm not coy. I have proven that. I'm pretty direct. If I were interested in it, I'd say it."
The first lady goes on to suggest that the people calling on her to run may not fully appreciate the scope of running for the highest office in the nation. "I don't believe in playing games," she says. "It's not something I would do. But it also speaks to the fact that people don't really understand how hard this is. And it's not something that you cavalierly just sort of ask a family to do again."
Published 12/15/2016