Former first lady Michelle Obama’s office addressed rumors that she plans to run for president Tuesday morning.
Michelle Obama’s office made it clear that the former first lady has no interest in seeking the executive office in a statement shared with NBC News.
“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 the former first lady’s office, said. “Mrs. Obama supports President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ re-election campaign.
Michelle Obama’s office says the former first lady ‘will not be running for president’ in 2024 https://t.co/WWOiBuKGlf
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 5, 2024
Michelle Obama intends to help Biden get reelected in the 2024 presidential election, but the former first lady will likely play a more limited role in the effort as she did during the 2020 presidential election, NBC reported.
The Biden campaign plans to brandish Michelle Obama’s popularity among Democratic voters to increase turnout in 2024, the outlet reported. Kevin Munoz, a Biden campaign spokesperson, said the Obamas were “enormously helpful” in electing Biden in 2020. (RELATED: Newt Gingrich Explains ‘For The First Time’ Why He Thinks Biden Might Not Be Nominee, Dishes Potential Replacements)
Michelle Obama previously told Oprah Winfrey why she never planned to appear on the ballot in a Netflix special.
“Politics is hard,” she told Winfrey. “And the people who get into it… you’ve got to want it. It’s got to be in your soul, because it’s so important. It’s not in my soul.”
Speculation has swirled for months regarding the former first lady’s potential candidacy. Several high-profile political and media figures predicted that Michelle Obama would run for president to replace President Joe Biden, including Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Fox News host Jesse Watters.
Former President Barack Obama previously ignored rumors that his wife would run for president as reporters pelted him with questions as he was leaving a Los Angeles restaurant in October 2023.