Michelle Obama’s name can often come up as a possible presidential contender.

But don’t even think about it, the former first lady said during an event promoting her new book on fashion, “The Look.”

Because? Because “as we saw in the last election, we are woefully not ready,” Obama told actress Tracee Ellis Ross at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York earlier this month. Watch it from 32 minutes in here.

“That’s why I say, ‘Don’t even look at me about running because you’re all lying,’” he continued. “You’re not ready for a woman. You’re not. So don’t waste my time.”

Former first lady Michelle Obama ruled out a presidential run because the United States
Former first lady Michelle Obama ruled out a presidential run because the United States is “not ready” for a woman in power.

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President Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, the first woman nominated for president by a major political party, in the 2016 presidential election. Trump then lost to former President Joe Biden in 2020, although he refuses to admit it, and then beat his Democratic rival Kamala Harris in 2024.

Obama suggested that “we have a lot to do and, unfortunately, there are still a lot of men who don’t feel like they can be guided by a woman and we saw that.”

Obama shared a video of the conversation on his YouTube channel on Friday.