Does Michelle Obama Want to Replace Joe Biden? Everything She's Said

Speculation has been rife over whether former First Lady Michelle Obama might replace President Joe Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee.

Biden's win in the South Carolina and New Hampshire Democratic primaries along with Trump's win in the New Hampshire Republican primary has signaled the two will likely be the presidential nominees in November.

However, questions related to the age and mental fitness of both Trump, 77, and Biden, 81, have been consistent talking points during the primary season. Age has been a concern among voters in a hypothetical rematch between Biden and Trump, sparking speculation the former first lady might replace Biden in the 2024 election.

According to Fox News, former White House and Pentagon official Douglas MacKinnon signaled the former first lady may be a contender, adding that she could emerge as a top candidate and Democrats could look to push her to run.

However, she has previously denied any desire to seek candidacy. Newsweek has reached out to Biden's campaign and Obama's spokesperson via email for comment.

Everything She's Said

In Netflix's 2013 The Light We Carry: Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, an interview featuring the two, Obama shared she will not run for president.

"I've never expressed any interest in politics. Ever. I mean, I agreed to support my husband. He wanted to do it, and he was great at it. But at no point have I ever said, 'I think I want to run.' Ever. So, 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?" Obama said.

Obama said that her interest is in service and helping kids, adding that she does not have to be in office to do that.

"Politics is hard. And the people who get into it—it's just like marriage, it's just like kids—you've got to want it. It's got to be in your soul because it is so important. It is not in my soul. Service is in my soul. Helping people is in my soul. Working with kids? I will spend my lifetime trying to make kids feel seen and find their light. That I will do. I don't have to hold office to do that," Obama said.

Although she has denied the possibility of running for president, she previously signaled she's "terrified" about the potential outcome of the 2024 election.

Appearing on an episode of On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast in January, Obama listed November's presidential contest among the fears that keep her awake at night.

"What's going to happen in this next election? I'm terrified about what could possibly happen because our leaders matter. Who we select, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit, it affects us in ways sometimes I think people take for granted," she told Shetty.

"The fact that people think that government—'eh, does it really even do anything?'—and I'm like 'Oh my God, does government do everything for us, and we cannot take this democracy for granted.' And I worry sometimes that we do. Those are the things that keep me up," Obama continued.

This is not the first time Obama has had to dispel the speculation and has rebuffed any notion that she might run for office.

Prior to the 2020 election, the former first lady addressed rumors she would run for office.

"The reason why I don't want to run for president—and I can't speak for Oprah [Winfrey] —but my sense is that, first of all, you have to want the job," Obama told Today in 2018, referencing prior rumors that Winfrey was going to run in 2020.

She said, "And you can't just say, 'Well, you're a woman, run.' We just can't find the women we like and ask them to do it, because there are millions of women who are inclined and do have the passion for politics."