A longtime friend of the Obama family offered some insight into why Michelle Obama won’t run for president, even if she would be good at the job.
Tracey Meares, a professor at Yale Law School who served on the Presidential Task Force for 21st Century Policing, sat down for an interview with the Martha’s Vineyard Times during a vacation that coincided with the former first family’s stay on the Massachusetts island.
Meares discussed Obama, who recently told Amtrak magazine the National there is “zero chance” she will challenge President Trump for the White House in 2020.
“Should she run? I don’t know,” Meares said with a smile on her face, adding, “She won’t. I can’t imagine she would.”
The report mentions the strain such an endeavor would be on Obama’s family after Michelle’s husband served two terms as president. “I can’t imagine that she wouldn’t make a good president. But it’s a thing you have to want to do, right? She’s amazing,” Meares said.
Obama, 55, has been resistant to repeated calls for her to consider a run. Liberal activist Michael Moore said Obama is the only person who could “crush” Trump and a high level of popularity showed when her memoir, Becoming, became the best-selling book of 2018. A recent poll found Obama to be the most admired woman in the world.
Obama explained to the National that she would prefer helping people outside the scope of politics.
“There are so many ways to improve this country and build a better world, and I keep doing plenty of them, from working with young people to helping families lead healthier lives. But sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office will never be one of them. It’s just not for me,” she said.
