Barack Obama says Michelle would never run for office, but he’d support her

Barack Obama told a Spanish newspaper on Sunday that despite her national, and even worldwide, popularity, Michelle Obama would never run for president, as some Democrats may have hoped.

Speaking to Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia about his new book, the former president said Ms Obama doesn’t have her eyes on the top White House job—or on running for office at all.

“Michele isn’t going to run for president. I can guarantee it,” he said. “As I say in the book, she doesn’t like politics. Also she says it clearly in her own book, and without very much subtlety.”

But whatever she does want to do next, Mr Obama said, he planned on supporting her the ways she had supported him during an at-times trying eight years as president.

“That said, I am always happy to support her in what she needs, independently of whatever the next goal is, just as she does with me,” he said in the interview.

Ms Obama remains extremely popular, with a survey in December 2019 listing her as the most admired woman in the world, and many within the Democratic party still feel a deep admiration for her.

But she’s remained adamant that that’s not the sort of future she’s eyeing. In 2019, she told comedian Conan O’Brien on his podcast that one reason she didn’t want to run was that eight years in the White House gave her detached perspective on what normal life is like.

“It's time for new ideas and people who've been in the Chipotle line, and people who are struggling in ways that, because of the nature of what we've done, we don't do that anymore,” she said. “We need fresh, real, clear eyes in this stuff. That's why we're investing our time in training the next leaders."

Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. is reportedly trying to elevate his national profile ahead of a future political career.

He and his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle are reportedly unhappy with the Republican National Committee and how it handled this election, and have been maneuvering themselves to have more influence inside it ahead of a hopeful 2024 comeback for the GOP. (They’ve denied this.)

President Trump’s son is also considering a run at leading the National Rifle Association, an influential and highly visible post in Republican political circles.

He’s also published multiple books and is a frequent presence on the campaign trail.