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Michelle Obama says she’ll ‘never ever’ change her mind about not running for office
By Hanna Panreck
Published November 26, 2025
Former first lady Michelle Obama said she would "never ever" reconsider running for office during a podcast posted Tuesday.
Asked by podcast host Jamie Kern Lima if she would ever revisit her pledge to not run for political office, Obama responded, "No, never ever."
Obama made headlines this month after she said the U.S. wasn't ready for a female president. "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," she said during an event in New York.
The former first lady also said that she does not believe men in America are comfortable with a woman leading them.
Michelle Obama at "IMO Live: Michelle Obama, Craig Robinson & Dr. Laurie Santos" during SXSW Conference; Festivals at the Austin Convention Center on March 13, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (Hubert Vestil/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images)
"You know, we’ve 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," she said at the event.
She has shut down speculation about running for president multiple times.
During her conversation with Lima, Obama described how she views her leadership role now.
Former President Barack Obama, left, embraces Michelle Obama during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago on Aug. 20, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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"I believe that our job as leaders is to come in, do our part, bring others up, move out of the way," she said. "This stage of my life is purposefully and mindfully planning my step aside, not my exit. But it's like, you got to step up, whatever that is. And so it's the opposite of holding on to the thing. It's letting go."
The former first lady also spoke critically to Lima about the East Wing renovations by President Donald Trump as the White House builds a lavish ballroom.
"I felt a loss for us as a nation, but personally you know, that's not our house, that's the people's house," she said.
Former first lady Michelle Obama on the set of her podcast in June. (Michelle Obama YouTube channel)
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She told Lima she felt confusion over the changes and a sense of pain over whether the nation still had a sense of collective values.
"I'm like, well, who are we? What do we value? And who decides that? That's the thing that's going through my head a lot lately. Who are we? What are the rules? Because I'm confused by—what are our norms and our mores? Not the laws, but how do we live together? That's the part of it that hurts, it's not the house," she said.
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