What Michelle Obama has said about running for US president

After weeks of pressure from within his party, Joe Biden has dropped out of the presidential race amid concerns over his health and ability to serve another four-year term.

Now, with less than four months to go until the November 5 election, the Democrats must now choose a new nominee to face Donald Trump.

Biden has backed vice president Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, and a number of other figures once tipped to be considering bids of their own, including Gavin Newsom and Josh Shapiro, have fallen behind her.

Another well-known face, former first lady Michelle Obama, has also been mentioned by some as a candidate they would back - and while she has distanced herself from running, one Ipsos survey at the start of July showed she was the only one of several senior Democrats to poll higher than Trump.

What has Michelle Obama said?

Obama herself was asked if she ever planned on running for office as early as 2012, when her husband was still president.

She told an event at the White House: "Absolutely not. I think that once his terms are over, we'll go on to do other important things, because there are so many ways you can help this country and the world, even if you're not president of the United States."

Obama and her husband have been asked this question during various media appearances and public events in the following years, with the attorney insisting she was "not interested" in a career in politics.

In December 2016 she told Oprah Winfrey she didn't want to put her children through another election campaign, adding: "I'm not coy. I've proven that. I'm pretty direct. If I were interested in it, I would say it. I don't believe in playing games."

She was asked the same question by Winfrey in 2023, and gave the same answer.

"I'm just wondering: Does what I want have anything to do with anything? Does who I choose to be have anything to do with it?," she asked the presenter.

In a Netflix special released last year, Obama said politics is “hard... and the people who get into it… It’s got to be in your soul, because it is so important. It is not in my soul.”

What have Democrats said?

Barack Obama has so far held off from publicly supporting Kamala Harris, calling for a process "from which an outstanding nominee emerges".

Speculation that the former president was holding back in the hope that his wife could be included on the nomination papers is likely to be unfounded - he previously waited until after the 2020 primaries to endorse Biden for president and has long presented himself as above party politics.

Michelle Obama does not appear to have received any public endorsements from major Democratic figures. Despite this, some in the Republican Party still view her as a formidable opponent, albeit a theoretical one.

"I don't think I'd be revealing any sort of polling secrets if I said Michelle Obama would probably be the one person that could step in and keep the party united and probably provide a little bit of a moving start because of her obvious notoriety," Republican senator Kevin Cramer told New York Magazine.

What do the polls say?

Despite repeatedly refusing to run the office, there still appears to be a strong public appetite for her to throw her hat into the ring.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on July 2 found that Obama would outperform Biden among voters. Among those who answered the survey, 50% said they would vote for the former first lady, compared to 39% for Trump.

In comparison, the contest was tighter between Biden and Trump, who both maintained the support of 40% of registered voters.

In a race between Harris and Trump, there was only one percentage point between them, with 42% backing the vice president compared to 43% for the Republican nominee.

Polling for the Center Square Voters' Voice carried out in January suggested that if Democrat-leaning voters could pick anyone as their party's candidate, Harris would finish in seventh place, the Highland County Press reports.

Out of those who responded, 24% said they would pick Obama, compared to 20% for Biden, 12% for Bernie Sanders and 9% for "someone else", 9% for secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg, 8% for Hillary Clinton, 7% for Harris and 5% for Elizabeth Warren.

How could she help the Democrat nominee?

While Barack Obama was seen on the campaign trail with Biden, Michelle has not publicly shown her support for the incumbent president's bid. However, her star power could yet be a great asset to Harris if she chooses to back her.

Kevin Munoz, the Biden campaign spokesman, said Obama was “enormously helpful in the fight to beat Donald Trump” in 2020.

After Biden and Harris won the November 2020 election, the Obamas congratulated them in a joint-statement, describing Harris' rise to vice presidency "groundbreaking".

Sharing a post on her Instagram account, Michelle said: "I'm beyond thrilled that my friend Joe Biden and our first Black and Indian-American woman Vice President, Kamala Harris, are headed to restore some dignity, competence, and heart at the White House. Our country sorely needs it."

In August 2020, Obama shared a post on social media explaining what Harris's vice presidential candidacy would mean for young girls.

"I’ve been thinking about all those girls growing up today who will be able to take it for granted that someone who looks like them can grow up to lead a nation like ours. Because @KamalaHarris may be the first, but she won’t be the last," she said. "I am here for it all. Let us embrace and celebrate this moment. Go get ‘em girl."

With this in mind, Obama could be more open to throwing her weight behind Harris's campaign, particularly with the prospect of a Trump victory appearing so close.

Read more

• Why has Obama not endorsed Harris? (The Telegraph)

• Which Democrats have endorsed Kamala Harris – and which haven’t (The Independent)

• Joe Biden quits presidential race: What happens next? (The Telegraph)