Michelle Obama's office addresses 2024 presidential rumors
FILE - Michelle Obama walks onstage during The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times - in Conversation with Michelle Obama at YouTube Theater on Dec. 13, 2022, in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for ABA)
Michelle Obama’s name has been suggested by some as a possible better presidential candidate over incumbent President Joe Biden heading into November.
With Biden most likely facing former President Donald Trump on the 2024 ballot, and his mental capabilities doubted by many Americans in polling, rumors of another Obama candidacy have swirled in recent months.
FILE - Former First Lady Michelle Obama is seen at the opening day 2023 US Open Tennis Tournament on August 28, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Jackson Lee/GC Images)
But the former first lady has no interest in moving back into the White House.
"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 her office, told NBC News.
"Mrs. Obama supports President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ re-election campaign," the statement added.
Obama intends to help Biden’s reelection campaign, similar to how she did in 2020, NBC News reported, citing sources familiar with discussions.
The news outlet added that Biden’s campaign will seek to maximize the former first lady’s popularity closer to the election in an effort to win over swing voters.
Obama has repeatedly stated that she has no plans to run for president. She emphasized this point with Oprah Winfrey in a Netflix special.
"Politics is hard," Obama 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."
This story was reported from Cincinnati.