Michelle Obama explains her comments that the U.S. wasn’t ready for a female president

Michelle Obama speaks on stage during the SXSW Conference and Festival on March 13, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (Marcus Ingram/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama said in an interview released Wednesday that the country is moving in the direction of having a woman president, clarifying what she meant after previously saying the country is not ready for one.

“It takes time, right, so, but we’re moving,” Obama said on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. “We are moving in that direction.”

Obama went on to say that her earlier remarks had “humor” in them.

The former first lady said last year while promoting her book, “The Look,” “That’s why I’m like, don’t even look at me about running ‘cause you all are lying. You’re not ready for a woman.”

When asked by “Call Her Daddy” host Alex Cooper what the country needs to do to be ready for a woman president, Obama suggested that there needs to be conversations about people’s feelings about a woman leading the country.

“There are men out there that were not gonna vote for a woman. You know, that … people have had those conversations, right. Let’s just be real about it and let’s put that on the table and talk about what’s that about,” Obama said.

“Let’s not be mad because I made the statement. Let’s look at the fact that we’ve had two really qualified female candidates,” Obama added, referring to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton — who ran for president and lost in 2008 and 2016 — and former vice-president Kamala Harris, who was defeated by President Donald Trump in 2024.

Obama addressed her husband, former President Barack Obama, defeating Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primary, highlighting that the country was ready to accept a “newcomer” over a well-known female political figure.

“One who was first lady, secretary of state, well educated, you know. My husband beat her,” Obama said. “People were more comfortable with him as a newcomer, right.”

She continued: “We’ve had qualified women … There’s a falling shortness that is happening that I, you know, I’d say ‘Look, well why can’t we talk about that. Why are we pretending that that didn’t just happen.’”

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN