Former first lady Michelle Obama told the Call Her Daddy podcast that the U.S. is "moving" toward electing a woman president and clarified that her prior "not ready" remark contained humor. She urged candid conversations about why some voters resist female leaders and reminded listeners that the country has seen highly qualified female candidates, including Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris. Obama pointed to the 2008 Democratic primary — when Barack Obama prevailed over Hillary Clinton — as an example of voter preferences worth examining.
Michelle Obama: “We’re Moving” Toward A Woman President — She Clarifies Her 'Not Ready' Remark
Michelle Obama speaks on stage during the SXSW Conference and Festival on March 13, 2025, in Austin, Texas. - Marcus Ingram/Getty Images
Former first lady Michelle Obama said in a podcast interview released Wednesday that the United States is gradually moving toward the possibility of electing a woman president, and she sought to clarify an earlier quip that the country was "not ready" for one.
Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast with host Alex Cooper, Obama framed the earlier comment as partially humorous while stressing progress over time.
"It takes time, right, so, but we’re moving. We are moving in that direction," Obama said. "There was humor in that line, but the point is we are making progress."
Obama said last year while promoting her book The Light We Carry that she had joked she would not run for president because "you all are lying. You’re not ready for a woman." On the podcast she urged a more candid national conversation about the underlying attitudes that shape voter behavior.
"There are men out there that were not gonna vote for a woman," she told Cooper. "Let’s just be real about it and put that on the table and talk about what’s that about." Obama encouraged frank discussion rather than anger over her earlier remark.
She also noted that the country has already seen highly qualified female candidates in recent years. "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 said, referring to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who ran for president in 2008 and 2016, and Vice President Kamala Harris, who ran in 2024.
Reflecting on the 2008 Democratic primary, Obama observed that voters chose her husband, then-Senator Barack Obama, over Clinton — a longtime national figure — and suggested that comfort with a newcomer at that moment signaled lingering hesitancy about established female candidates.
"One who was first lady, secretary of state, well-educated, you know. My husband beat her. People were more comfortable with him as a newcomer, right," she said. "We’ve had qualified women…There’s a falling shortness that is happening that I, you know, I’d say, 'Look, why can’t we talk about that? Why are we pretending that didn’t just happen?'
Obama’s comments add to an ongoing conversation about gender, political ambition and the cultural barriers female candidates still face. She framed the issue as one that merits honest, open discussion rather than dismissal.
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