Michelle Obama's Shadow Campaign for President: Everything You Need to Know
By now you may have heard the rumor — among many others — about the 2024 election: At the last minute, Democrats will replace President Joe Biden with former first lady Michelle Obama.
At the moment, the rumor is just that — a rumor.
But that doesn’t make it any less plausible.
Obama’s Response to the Rumors
In the past, Obama has flatly denied that she has any intentions of running for president.
For instance, during a BBC interview in November 2022, Obama said she hated being asked if she was going to run.
“I detest it. No, I’m not going to run,” Obama said.
‘Which question do you detest being asked?’
Former US First Lady Michelle Obama gives the answer to Naga on #BBCBreakfast https://t.co/Ite3xDECzr pic.twitter.com/wtzO3Wgk2T
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) November 15, 2022
In the Netflix special “The Light We Carry,” released in April, Obama shared her thoughts on a potential White House run with Oprah Winfrey.
“I’ve never expressed any interest in politics. Ever,” Obama said, according to Rolling Stone. “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.”
But Obama has also avoided endorsing Biden for president in 2024.
For example, in a different November 2022 interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts, Obama said Biden was “doing a great job.”
But when Roberts asked the former first lady if she hoped Biden would run again in 2024, she hesitated.
“You know, I — I will have to see,” Obama said.
“The reason I don’t speak on that is because I know what it feels like to be on the other side of it. And I think that that’s a personal decision that he and his family have to make.”
When asked by @RobinRoberts if President Biden should run in the 2024 election, former first lady Michelle Obama said she doesn’t “speak on that” because she knows “what it feels like to be on the other side of it.” #MichelleObama https://t.co/BKf9XdBBUv pic.twitter.com/O1ELPW4LTw
— 20/20 (@ABC2020) November 14, 2022
A January interview reignited speculation of a shadow campaign for president.
During an episode of the mental health podcast “On Purpose,” host Jay Shetty asked Obama what her biggest fear was.
“It has less to do with me personally and more to do with the world that we’re in,” Obama said. “There’s such a thing as knowing too much, and when you’ve been married to the president of the United States who knows everything about everything in the world, sometimes you just want to turn it off.”
“Where are we in this? Where are our hearts? What’s gonna happen in this next election?” she asked. “I am 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 that sometimes I think people take for granted.”
The Democratic Party’s Dilemma
Obama has never overtly stated that she intends to run for president. A number of conservative figures, however, maintain that she will indeed be on the ballot this year.
In fact, for Trump adviser and conservative political consultant Roger Stone, Obama’s denials are telling.
“That’s further proof that she’s running,” Stone told The Western Journal in a recent phone interview.
“First of all, I don’t think she’s going to run; I think she’s going to allow herself to be drafted, and there’s a substantial difference,” he said. “But just the fact that she has a higher profile to me is an indication that her draft is probable.”
Stone, who was one of the first to float the Obama 2024 theory, said the likely scenario is that the 81-year-old Biden will not step down; he’ll simply not run again.
Ordinarily, this would make the vice president — in this case Kamala Harris — the obvious next choice.
But Democrats face a problem.
“There’s also a recognition within the Democratic Party that she’s also an extraordinarily weak candidate,” Stone said of Harris.
“On the other hand, the constituency that she represents — being a woman of color within the Democratic Party — is an extraordinarily important constituency.
“And therefore, the only way they could justify not nominating Kamala Harris would be to nominate a woman of color who is even more popular and who has no political track record to attack, and that is Michelle Obama,” Stone said.
How Obama Could End Up on the 2024 Ballot
An Obama nomination is eminently possible because of the undemocratic superdelegate system unique to the Democratic Party.
In the early ’80s, after former President Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter in a landslide, Democrats devised a way to prevent unwanted outsiders from winning the Democratic nomination.
Here is a quick rundown of how the process works:
To win the nomination this year, a candidate will need the support of a majority of the 4,532 delegates at the Democratic National Convention. The delegates are selected at the state level via primaries and caucuses.
But 744 of the delegates — or about 15 percent — are unelected superdelegates who can vote for any candidate.
These superdelegates are made up of Democrats in various positions of power, such as congressmen and governors, as well as party leaders, such as former presidents and members of the Democratic National Committee.
All of the current superdelegates were appointed by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, according to Blaze Media.
This year, even if the majority of ordinary Democratic delegates vote for another candidate, the superdelegates could tip the scales in favor of Michelle Obama.
“The dominance and flexibility of the superdelegates within their Democratic convention system really allow for a late replacement of Joe Biden in the event that he elected not to run,” Stone said.
“Biden could withdraw as late as the eve of the convention, and Michelle Obama could be nominated by acclamation.”
Stone said the Democrats have a plan for Harris, too.
“They promise her the first Supreme Court nomination — she is a former attorney general of California. If they had the presidency and a Democratic Senate, they could most certainly confirm her.
“She then would agree not to run for re-election. They replace her with [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom. Between the Obamas and Gavin Newsom, they could raise all the money they need. I think that is going to be their ticket,” Stone said.
Stone also made this prediction at a Turning Point Action conference in July.
I predict that Michelle Obama will be the Democrat Party Nominee for President in 2024.
You heard it here first.#ACTCON2023 @TPAction_ pic.twitter.com/AVqk36hmnh
— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) July 17, 2023
Signs of an Obama Presidential Run
Stone said the theory likely originated with filmmaker and author Joel Gilbert.
In his book “Michelle Obama 2024,” which was published in July 2022, Gilbert said Obama is following the same formula her husband did before he was elected president.
Prior to running in 2008, Barack Obama ran a voter registration group and wrote two autobiographies, and he introduced John Kerry at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Similarly, Michelle Obama started the When We All Vote voter registration group, penned two autobiographies — “Becoming” and “The Light We Carry” — and introduced Biden at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
Others in conservative media have also latched onto the idea of Obama becoming the Democratic nominee in 2024.
The hosts of Fox News’ “Outnumbered” recently discussed the possibility in light of Obama’s comments on the “On Purpose” podcast.
“She wants to run,” co-host Lisa Montgomery Kennedy said. “If she were really concerned about the future and the tenor of the country, she would be on the campaign trail with Joe Biden.
“She is just as concerned about him as she is about Donald Trump. So this is her way of sending out a little canary into the coal mine to see if it lives, and I think this could be the beginning of her campaign.”
At the very least, the Obamas are concerned about a Trump victory in 2024.
Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported on a private lunch Barack Obama recently had with Biden at the White House.
Obama became “animated” as he discussed the 2024 election and has told Biden’s aides that his re-election campaign needs an overhaul, according to the Post’s anonymous sources.
He has even suggested bringing on David Plouffe, Obama’s own former campaign manager, as a senior strategist, as well as seeking advice from other Obama campaign aides.
As for Stone, he said that although his theory is speculation, it is “well-grounded” based on the current political situation and Michelle Obama’s recent behavior.
“I don’t think it’s coincidental that just in the last two weeks, we have seen both more of [Michelle Obama] and her husband than we’ve seen in the last three years,” Stone said.
“And … in her most recent interviews, she began laying the groundwork for a candidacy by saying she was deeply concerned about the prospect of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.”
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