Michelle Obama didn’t mince words during a recent event in Brooklyn: the United States, she warned, still isn’t prepared to elect a woman as commander in chief.
“Not ready for a woman”: the former First Lady pointed directly to Kamala Harris’s 2024 defeat as proof of what she called a harsh truth — “the country is not ready” to put a woman in the Oval Office.
Obama, 61, was speaking at the Brooklyn Academy of Music during a public conversation moderated by Tracee Ellis Ross, where she was promoting her latest book. When pressed on whether the U.S. might soon be ready to embrace a female president, Obama shut the door on any wishful thinking.
“Don’t even count on me for the presidential elections”
Citing Harris’s loss to Donald Trump, Obama repeated that the U.S. remains “unfortunately not ready” to elect a woman to the White House. “As we saw in the previous elections, the country is not ready,” she said, recalling that the former vice president failed to cross the final threshold to power.
And to anyone hoping she might step in herself, Obama delivered a blunt refusal:
“Don’t even count on me for the presidential elections, because you’re all lying. You’re not ready for a woman (president).”
Obama has long faced speculation about a possible run, but she has consistently insisted she has no interest in seeking the presidency.
“Many men don’t think they can be led by a woman”
Responding to whether her years in the White House helped open doors for future female leaders, Obama argued the cultural barriers remain deeply rooted.
According to her, the problem is far from solved: “Many men don’t think they can be led by a woman,” she said — a mindset she considers one of the central obstacles to ever seeing a woman in the Oval Office.
Back in October 2024, Obama had already voiced her “real fear” that Donald Trump would return to office. Yet a Reuters/Ipsos poll published that same year suggested she was the only public figure capable of beating him decisively in the popular vote.
Since early 2025, Obama has kept a low profile, skipping major political events and fueling rumors of marital strain — speculation she firmly dismissed last April on the Work in Progress podcast. “I chose to do what was best for me, not what I was obligated to do (…). What trips us up, as women, is disappointing people.”
She insisted she continues to devote time to public speaking and international engagement, while emphasizing that raising her daughters remains a priority.
During the 2024 campaign, the Obamas threw their support behind Kamala Harris after Joe Biden stepped aside. But according to Michelle Obama, that wasn’t enough to mask a deeper reality: American society still isn’t ready to accept a woman as head of state.